Adult-use cannabis sales launch April 1, 2022

On Friday, April 1, 2022, adult-use cannabis sales officially began in New Mexico. New Mexicans 21 and older are now able to begin making retail purchases of cannabis.

The launch of adult-use sales comes exactly 366 days after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the Cannabis Regulation Act into law. In 2021, New Mexico became the 18th state to legalize adult-use cannabis and the fifth to do so through the legislative process rather than by voter initiative.

The law officially went into effect on June 29, 2021. Adults can legally possess up to two ounces of cannabis and cultivate up to six mature plants. You can read a summary of the law, which was HB 2, here.

Medical marijuana

New Mexico is one of 36 states (plus D.C.) that have removed criminal penalties for the medical use of marijuana. In June 2019, the New Mexico Department of Health added six new qualifying conditions (opioid use disorder, autism spectrum disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, Friedreich’s Ataxia, Lewy Body Disease, and spinal muscular atrophy) to the state’s medical cannabis program, raising the total number of qualifying conditions to 28.

The legislature and governor also enacted SB 406 during the 2019 session to expand the state’s medical cannabis program. SB 406 includes reciprocity for visiting patients, allows home growers to pay manufacturers to process their cannabis, allows patients to renew their medical cannabis cards every three years rather than annually, and includes employment protections for medical cannabis patients. 

In another positive development, in a 2018 court ruling, a judge overturned the 450-plant cap imposed on licensed nonprofit producers, finding it was arbitrary. Many patients had suffered from a lack of supply and high prices due to the cap. On March 1 2019, the Department of Health temporarily increased the plant count to 2,500 plants.

For information on New Mexico’s medical marijuana program, including information on qualifying conditions and how to become a patient, please visit the New Mexico Health Department’s information page.

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