New Mexico regulators enacted an emergency rule that more than quintuples the medical marijuana plant count limit to 2,500 per grower, a development that should lower MMJ prices and increase supplies and sales.
The 180-day 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.
The judge’s ruling was seen a big win for the industry, which had complained that it was hamstrung by New Mexico’s strict plant-count limits.
Indeed, Ultra Health, a medical marijuana operator with 23 dispensaries statewide, hailed the decision and attributed it to a “significant collaboration” between the state and cannabis industry.
Here are some key elements of the New Mexico medical cannabis industry:
- A more relaxed plant-count limit is considered critical to boosting MMJ markets.
- The emergency rule expires Aug. 28. Ultra Health has pledged to work with the state to develop a permanent rule that “will provide an adequate supply for current and future medical cannabis patients statewide.”
- In its emergency amendment, the state continued to defend the concept of plant-count limits, saying the restrictions help ensure access to medical cannabis “without fear of interference from the federal government.”
- New Mexico currently has roughly 67,000 patients enrolled in its medical cannabis program, according to state regulators. The state has licensed 35 nonprofit producer and provisioning businesses.
- Marijuana Business Factbook estimated New Mexico’s 2018 sales would reach $80 million-$120 million, up from $55 million-$75 million in 2017.
