However, some industry leaders say that is too many.
This week, nearly 100 dispensaries, producers, and private citizens signed a letter sent to the governor’s office asking her to make some changes.
The letter said, in part:
An unfortunate byproduct of the free-market approach that our state took for licensing new operators is a saturation of regulated and illegal cannabis products in New Mexico. These two factors are resulting in homegrown small and medium-sized cannabis businesses being forced to close their doors or lay off staff. Our local businesses simply cannot compete with the illicit market and the immense oversupply.
In April, when the state celebrated one year of legalization, some dispensaries pointed out the field is getting pretty crowded
“When you go down to the individual business level, they are struggling a little bit because of this competition,” Verdes CFO Jon Updegraff said.
When KOB 4 spoke to Updegraff in April there were 633 dispensaries in the state – 157 of those are in the Albuquerque metro.
“When you think of the competition in that sense it’s been very stiff,” Updegraff said.
Fast forward to June, and now there are 1,006 dispensaries across New Mexico.
Some businesses, like Herban Oasis Dispensary, are trying to stand out in the crowded industry by offering yoga and puff and paint classes. But they are still struggling to draw a crowd.
“You know, I feel like the cannabis industry is getting kind of saturated, right now with a lot of dispensaries coming up,” CEO Nia Harris said.
The letter goes on to suggest three policy changes, they say will provide relief to those trying to keep their business open: