Marijuana Business Magazine - May-June 2018

MARKET AT A GLANCE Main measure Senate Bill 523 Year passed 2007 MMJ business regulations Heavy. The state limits the number of MMJ business licenses based on medical cannabis availability to the patient base, though there are no caps on the number of dispensaries each company may open. Businesses must go through a rigorous application and approval process and are subject to various rules and regulations, including strict plant limits, testing, security and record keeping. State tax requirements 7%-9% gross receipts tax Sampling of state licensing & application fees Application: Producer/Dispensary - $10,000 Manufacturer - $1,000 Testing Lab - $2,200 What to watch • New Mexico was the first state in the nation to list post-traumatic stress dis- order as a qualifying MMJ condition, but regulators have been reluctant to pre- serve the program’s progressive approach. Multiple attempts to add opioid use disorder as a qualifying MMJ condition have been rejected. Recently, however, legislation that would officially ask the state’s health secretary to add opioid use disorder as a qualifying condition unanimously passed the New Mexico House of Representatives. Whether this will prompt any action remains to be seen. • MMJ businesses in New Mexico are growing along with the market. Currently, there are 71 dispensaries in the state, up from 52 in early 2017. Only 35 busi- nesses are licensed to grow and sell MMJ in New Mexico, but there are no limits on how many dispensary storefronts each may open. New Mexico New Mexico’s medical marijuana program is continuing to grow at a robust rate, despite being one of the oldest MMJ programs in the country. Nearly 18,000 new patients enrolled from December 2016 to December 2017 – a 61% jump – marking the largest increase in patients over a single-year period since the program launched in 2007. Patients purchased nearly 7 million grams of MMJ in 2017, with total sales of flower, concentrates and edibles coming in at an esti- mated $85 million. Nearly half the registered patients in New Mexico use MMJ to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Chronic/severe pain is the most oft-cited condition treated by MMJ patients in every state where it’s allowed – New Mexico is the only exception. It was the first state to add PTSD as a treatable condition for medical cannabis. License: Producer/Dispensary - $30,000 for first 150 plants; $10,000 for each additional 50 plants up to 450 total May-June 2018 • Marijuana Business Magazine • 141