Pot sales in New Mexico hit a record in October

Regulated cannabis sales hit record highs in New Mexico in October, with licensed marijuana sales totaling nearly $40 million for the month, according to data released last week by the state’s Cannabis Control Division (CCD). October marked the fourth straight month of record-breaking weed sales in New Mexico, where dispensaries introduced regulated adult-use cannabis sales in April.

Monthly cannabis sales in October totaled $39.8 million, according to CCD data updated Thursday, with New Mexico recreational marijuana sales topping $25 million for the first time. However, sales of medical marijuana have been on the decline, falling to $14.7 million last month, a new low since adult-use cannabis sales began earlier this year. Since April, dispensaries have sold a total of $161 million worth of recreational marijuana.

New Mexico regulators are launching a new online data portal

The updated cannabis sales numbers were provided through the state’s new online cannabis reporting portal, which went live Thursday afternoon. In addition to data on cannabis sales, the portal also offers other information about the cannabis industry in New Mexico, such as: B. The number of licensed pharmacies operating in the state.

“A few months ago, CCD saw an opportunity to provide more information about the New Mexico cannabis industry through a data portal similar to that of other states,” said Bernice Geiger, a spokeswoman for the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department. “We were able to capture data from our seed-to-sale software to further disseminate data in an intuitive, customizable graphical form.”

Adult cannabis sales have been particularly strong in towns near the New Mexico-Texas border, where recreational marijuana is still illegal. In Sunland Park, recreational marijuana sales topped $1.5 million in October, a new record for the town of just 20,000 people. Hobbs, which borders West Texas, also had a record month with $1.47 million in adult cannabis sales. Dispensaries in Clovis, also on the West Texas border, achieved $731.00 in recreational marijuana sales last month.

Reilly White, an associate professor at the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management, told the Albuquerque Journal that cannabis sales in New Mexico’s southern and eastern border towns are likely to remain strong as long as recreational marijuana breaks the law in neighboring Texas .

“We’re likely to see continued month-to-month growth in cannabis sales as the market matures,” White said, noting that sales in Colorado border towns have been declining since recreational marijuana sales began in New Mexico this year .

Adult cannabis sales were also helped by the influx of tourists visiting New Mexico for the 50th Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which brought thousands of visitors to the state over the first nine days of October, White said. Albuquerque’s recreational marijuana sales in October were $8.1 million, a new record for the city.

“The Balloon Fiesta resulted in a positive increase in sales for local cannabis companies as increased tourism traffic boosted recreational use,” he said. “The big test that the industry faces will likely be the macroeconomic conditions in 2023 – if we have a recession, how will consumers limit their recreational cannabis use?”

Decline in sales of medical marijuana

Despite strong adult-use cannabis sales, medical marijuana sales in New Mexico continued to decline. Duke Rodriguez, president and CEO of medical cannabis company Ultra Health, said the decline in medical marijuana sales can likely be attributed to patients now sourcing cannabis from recreational marijuana dispensaries.

“Medical sales are being reclassified as adult sales,” Rodriguez said. “They’re just being transferred from one bucket to the other.”

Ben Lewinger, executive director of the New Mexico Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, said that after legalizing cannabis for cannabis use, other states also saw a drop in sales of medical marijuana. According to the New Mexico Department of Health and Human Services, the number of medical marijuana patients in the state has fallen by 473 patients in a year, with the total patient count down to 123,990 in September.

“We knew that the number of enrolled medical patients would decrease, as has happened in every other medical condition that has shifted to adult use,” Lewinger said. “Importantly, we continue to invest in the medical program by adding more qualifying conditions so more people can receive cannabis treatment without paying taxes on their medication.”

In August, after the state began its four-month streak of record-breaking cannabis sales, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham commented on the economic opportunities presented by regulated adult cannabis use.

“These numbers show that the impressive sales achieved in the first month of legalized recreational cannabis sales were no fluke – and this is just the beginning,” Grisham said in a statement from the governor’s office. “We have built a new industry that is already generating millions of dollars in revenue at the local and state levels and will continue to generate millions more in economic activity across the state, creating thousands of jobs for New Mexicans in communities small and large.”