Many legacy marijuana businesses in New Mexico are closing or downsizing because the state has issued so many licenses the market is oversaturated.
As of September, the state had doled out more than 1,000 retail cannabis licenses, according to the Albuquerque Journal, which cited figures from the Cannabis Control Division (CCD).
The CCD of the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department regulates the state’s adult-use and medical cannabis industry.
For perspective, Colorado’s population is twice that of New Mexico but had 903 retailers as of June, according to figures the Journal obtained from that state’s Marijuana Enforcement Division.
“There’s too many testing facilities; there’s too many manufacturing people – everybody’s making a gummy,” Erik Briones, owner of Minerva Canna Group, told the newspaper.
Minerva, which operated in New Mexico’s medical marijuana space for more than a decade, is shutting down next month, the Journal reported.
Other stores that are shutting down include:
- Sacred Garden, which has operated under New Mexico’s MMJ program for more than a decade.
- Ultra Health, one of the largest operators in the state, has reduced its number of stores by nearly 20% over the past year.
In January 2023, legacy operators accounted for 43% of New Mexico’s recreational cannabis businesses, the Journal reported. That number dropped to about 30% last month.
Although several legacy businesses are closing their doors, newer businesses are succeeding in the market.
Oasis Cannabis Co., for example, brings in some of the most revenue in the state.
While the retailer offers a wide array of products, it likely has thinner margins, according to Bill Sluben of The Data Heard, a New Mexico-based data analytics firm.
