New Mexico is proposing new medical marijuana production rules that the state said are designed to shore up supplies to its MMJ program without flooding the rapidly expanding market.
Here’s what you need to know:
- The Department of Health published a proposal Tuesday to limit medical cannabis cultivation to 1,750 mature plants per licensed producer.
- Immature seedlings shorter than 8 inches won’t count toward the limit so that producers can experiment with plant strains.
- The production cap could increase starting in June 2021 if demand outstrips supplies.
In March, New Mexico regulators enacted an emergency rule that increased the medical marijuana plant count limit to 2,500 per grower.
That emergency rule was in response to a November court ruling in which a district judge struck down the state’s 450-plant limit as being arbitrary.
Participation in the state’s medical cannabis program has grown rapidly in recent years after chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder were added to a list of qualifying medical conditions.
Last week, the state expanded the list to include opioid-use disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, autism spectrum disorder and several degenerative neurological disorders.
– Associated Press and Marijuana Business Daily
