ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It has been 29 months since New Mexico opened legal recreational cannabis sales and since then, the state has recorded more than $1 billion in adult-use and medical sales. While state leaders have celebrated the “billion dollar industry” as a “milestone” for New Mexico, there’s growing concern about the regulatory apparatus the state has tasked with monitoring thousands of licensed cannabis facilities.
In a recent investigation , KRQE News 13’s Larry Barker exposed how New Mexico’s Cannabis Control Division has only inspected roughly half of the more than 3,000 licensed facilities across. Barker’s investigation also revealed how some of those licensees are blatantly violating the state’s cannabis rules and regulations.
How does this impact the state’s economy? What about health and safety concerns? Those questions and more are addressed in the full interview above.
This week on KRQE’s New Mexico News Insiders, Investigative Reporter Larry Barker sits down with Chris McKee and Gabrielle Burkhart to discuss the results of his cannabis industry investigation. Leader of the largest licensed cannabis operator in the state, Ultra Health CEO Duke Rodriguez also joins the conversation to talk about the impact the lack of regulation is having on New Mexico and the state’s cannabis industry.