Dank Deliveries

Ben Harper’s brain seems to move faster than his body or mouth. During a recent visit from SFR, the Santa Fe transplant darts around the small front room of his cannabis dispensary and delivery service headquarters, answering calls, grabbing a visitor pass for SFR and snagging the lock-box in which he stashes products for the road. Harper begins nearly every sentence with a backstory and he usually interrupts himself with, “What was your question?” or “What was I saying?”

Before he heads out the door with his phone and the black box, SFR asks how Harper managed to fund the business, to which Harper matter-of-factly says he used to work in the music industry and he’ll get to that story in due time.

Harper’s business, Deep Sky Cannabis, is tucked away off Cerrillos Road, behind a brewery and at the mouth of a residential neighborhood in an old one-story duplex inhabited by his friendly Husky mix, Sadie, his staff and a gold record hanging on the wall.

Shortly after SFR arrives, Harper hops in his compact electric BMW and heads south, with one eye on the road and the other on his phone’s digital map. He arrives at a double-wide on Agua Fría Street and is up the steps with one gram of God’s Gift and another of Face on Fire #9 in tow. The transaction with a regular customer takes about two minutes.

Harper says he rarely sees a day without any deliveries and estimates he’s done up to 12 in one shift. A legal cannabis delivery with the air of professionalism stands in stark contrast to the days of worrying about you or your socially awkward weed connection getting busted and sent to jail. But thanks to the state Cannabis Regulation Act, which went into effect this year, cannabis deliveries are not only legal now, but you don’t have to feel obligated to share any with the driver.

That doesn’t mean it’ll be easy to find one.

Deep Sky, with Harper as the only courier, is one of only a handful of cannabis delivery services in New Mexico, and may be the only one in Santa Fe. Residents have several food and grocery delivery options and, with the recent passage of another state law, can now add booze to the dropoff list. It’s unclear exactly how many cannabis companies are delivering across the state, let alone in Santa Fe, partially because the state doesn’t track that information. Industry veterans say the pickings are slim due to several factors: insurance, market demand and cost—not to mention the complicated logistics of it all. But for those who depend on the plant as medicine, cannabis deliveries can be a life-saver.

Legal-drive it

New Mexico’s Cannabis Control Division, overseen by the Regulation and Licensing Department, has issued more than 1,500 cannabis business licenses of varying kinds. According to Andrew Vallejos, who is pulling double duty as director of the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Division and acting director of the CCD, 119 of those licenses are for vertically integrated businesses that can grow, manufacture, sell and deliver cannabis. Vallejos says another 145 integrated cannabis microbusinesses can also take part in all aspects of the industry, though those smaller operations can’t produce as many plants or buy wholesale cannabis from other businesses. There are also 34 “standalone courier licenses,” Vallejos says.

It’s hard to tell how many businesses that are allowed to make deliveries actually do.

A Google search shows mixed results: While a long list of local dispensaries pops up, clicking through to their websites shows many of the companies offer curb-side pickup or online orders, but not deliveries. A search on WeedMaps.com shows only Deep Sky delivering in the City Different.

Vallejos says the state’s geography and market demand are likely the driving factors behind the dearth of weed delivery options.

“In New Mexico, we’re sort of geographically the opposite of dense,” Vallejos says. “We don’t have the population density, and so you don’t necessarily have those built-in efficiencies for delivery in sort of sparsely populated areas.”

Vallejos also speculates that cannabis consumers prefer to shop in person.

“I think, for the most part, the paradigm is mostly for people to walk in and shop,” he says. “Because a lot of times with cannabis, the products rotate. For some providers, they will have their set strain, but a lot of times the strains may vary.”

Third-party delivery services could theoretically get in the game, but those companies would have to also obtain a courier license from the CCD—and there are some complications with that as well.

Justin Greene, a Democratic nominee on the ballot for the Santa Fe County Commission, owns and operates Dashing Delivery, a Santa Fe-based service that predates the many new-aged delivery apps. Although he hasn’t seen a huge demand for cannabis delivery, Greene says he hasn’t ruled it out. But, he says, state law prohibits his business from holding licenses to deliver both booze and pot. Otherwise, his company “would probably be the best solution” for increased cannabis deliveries.

“Because we’re in the alcohol delivery space, we’re told that we’re precluded from it,” Greene says.

Vallejos says the state law is a bit ambiguous about that.

When the Legislature was crafting the Cannabis Regulation Act, lawmakers included language that can be interpreted as a prohibition on having both a liquor license and a cannabis license. One section of the Cannabis Regulation Act states: “A licensee may conduct any lawful activity or any combination of lawful activities at a licensed premises; provided that the licensee is not a licensee pursuant to the Liquor Control Act.” Another section reads: “Licensees are specifically allowed to conduct other licensed activities…except for sales of alcoholic beverages.”

Lawmakers tried, but ultimately failed, to clarify that language during the last legislative session. Vallejos hopes for a fix next year.

More than just convenience

Just before Harper drives SFR out for a delivery, he takes a moment to describe his role in the music industry and plainly mentions something that would induce angsty and emotional flashbacks in ‘90s pop-punk fans of a certain age.

“I started a band called Yellowcard,” Harper says.

For those who need reminding—or those who were busy doing something other than hitting Warped Tour shows—Yellowcard hit it big with their 2003 single, “Ocean Avenue,” in which the narrator reminisces about sleeping all day and staying up all “niiiggghhht.” For the uninformed, a quick internet search will likely result in at least an, “Oh, yeah, I’ve heard this song.”

The truncated version of Harper’s journey to delivering weed in Santa Fe started in Jacksonville, Florida, where members of Yellowcard met at a magnet high school. Shortly after the band found success, Harper parted ways and through a series of fortunate events, which include an unexpected chunk of back-royalties, he started a cannabis delivery service in California. Around 2018 he began tracking the push to legalize in New Mexico. His father and stepmother were living near Pecos, and his growing love for Northern New Mexico spurred Harper to set up shop in Santa Fe.

Harper says his overall sales are about 30% medical, 70% adult-use, and most of his deliveries come from non-medical sales. But he’s quick to point out that some of his regular delivery customers use cannabis for ailments that aren’t on the state’s list of approved conditions for medical use. One customer is scared to leave the house after COVID-19, and another is bound to a walker while recovering from a car accident. For another customer, a nurse who works nights, convenience is key.

“She works so hard overnight as a nurse,” Harper says. “It’s just an extra errand she doesn’t have to run.”

But for many others who have debilitating conditions, cannabis delivery means much more than convenience. Look no further than Ann Johnson, a retired nurse and Albuquerque resident. Johnson worked at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center for more than 17 years before the agonizing pain of multiple sclerosis—a diagnosis she received in 2015— forced her to retire a few months after the pandemic began.

Johnson started using medical cannabis to combat the neuropathy caused by the incurable disease attacking her central nervous system. The symptoms began, Johnson tells SFR, as “a little bit of numbness,” but now she can’t stand for long, let alone walk without assistance.

Johnson refuses to take narcotic painkillers after years of observing the negative effects of drugs like oxycodone. She says cannabis “helps tremendously,” even though it’s not a pain-management panacea.

“It doesn’t really take the pain away, but I’m really able to function better,” Johnson says. “I can move around a lot better.”

Shortly after the MS diagnosis, Johnson was still able to pick up her herbal medicine, but since she can’t drive anymore and she would likely have to wait in line at a dispensary, she often relies on her daughter, Tiffany Johnson.

“It’s impossible for me to do it at this point,” Ann Johnson says of getting to a dispensary.

Tiffany Johnson, who also has a professional background in health care, is her mother’s medical cannabis caregiver, a designation that allows her to legally buy medical cannabis for her mom. But Ann Johnson says there were times when her daughter couldn’t get to a dispensary before closing time. On those days, she went without cannabis for a day or more. When her supply is depleted, and with pharmaceuticals out of the question, she resorts to over-the-counter pain relievers, meditation, prayer, music, or anything that helps her “focus on something other than the symptoms” that are now part of her life.

The lack of options for her mother pushed Tiffany Johnson to start her own cannabis delivery business, Spliff Quick, which is licensed and mostly ready to launch, she says. The next step is “solidifying some contract letters of intent,” and her plan is to prioritize deliveries for patients like her mother.

“I’m just kind of right there on the cusp of tying up all my loose ends,” Johnson says.

Spliff Quick has been in the works for months, but Johnson is at a loss for why New Mexico hasn’t seen an uptick in cannabis deliveries since state regulators started approving licenses last year, especially given the plentiful choices in other states that legalized adult-use cannabis before New Mexico.

“If you look in other states, like Oregon and California, everybody is turning to delivery,” she says.

But those in charge of larger New Mexico cannabis companies that have been around since the state had only a medical program say the delivery game is full of complications.

On demand not in demand

Until recently, a regional logistics company was doing wholesale business-to-business cannabis deliveries and moving samples from producers to one of the two cannabis testing labs in the state. Pete Rallis, president of Hot Shot Services, says he was even in early talks about home delivery until the federal government tossed cold water on that idea after the company received COVID-19 pandemic relief money.

“We got that [Paycheck Protection Program] money and a [Small Business Administration] loan for our building,” Rallis says. “The federal government saw that when we submitted our financials, and they sent us an immediate cease and desist order on that whole division.”

Rallis says he doesn’t take abandoning deliveries lightly.

“I felt bad about what happened,” Rallis says. “I know a lot of people were very, very upset when we made that decision. But it was really out of my hands. We couldn’t jeopardize what we’re doing with the government and our SBA loans.”

Federal restrictions on cannabis may not play much into home deliveries, or lack thereof, but insurance, cost and safety do for many companies.

Trishelle Kirk, CEO of Everest Cannabis Company, describes several hurdles and sums up the potential launch of a delivery service this way: “It’s hard.”

Kirk says Everest delivers to the Albuquerque and Rio Rancho areas, but not just yet in Santa Fe. She’s concerned for drivers, considering that “cannabis has a lot of street value.” Then, there are the logistics. Instead of requiring drivers to use their own cars, Everest owns a fleet of vehicles equipped with GPS and a secure spot for products. Everest drivers do not carry cash, which raises another issue: Dispensaries have just recently begun accepting credit cards because of a longstanding refusal from many banks to take money from cannabis businesses. Some banks have reversed course in recent years, but not all.

She says buyers don’t like surprises.

“I think there’s a part of it where the market in general just isn’t really comfortable with having cannabis delivered,” Kirk says. “A lot of people want to go look at their cannabis, they want that experience of talking to the budtender, of being advised, especially if they’re a flower consumer, they want to look at their flower.”

Duke Rodriguez, president and CEO of cannabis producer Ultra Health—which does not offer delivery—says liability and cost issues hinder getting weed to your doorstep, but the biggest factor is a lack of demand.

“The number one issue is the market is impacted by the cost of delivery,” Rodriguez says. “Meaning, most places charge for delivery no different than if you use Instacart or anything else. And generally, New Mexico people do not want to pay the delivery charge.”

Plus, Rodriguez says, even though Albuquerque and Santa Fe may feel like large urban areas to locals, they don’t compare to cities with population numbers that rival the entire state of New Mexico.

“Keep in mind, delivery has been successful in very large, urban, metropolitan areas like LA County, Orange County, Maricopa County, not in states like New Mexico, or Montana, where it’s a lot of geography with very few people in any particular market,” Rodriguez says.

Red Barn Growers and R. Greenleaf, two production companies with locations in Santa Fe, are flirting with the idea of starting deliveries, representatives tell SFR, but neither has immediate plans to literally roll the weed out.

For now, unless cannabis users are in the service areas of the few companies that deliver, or they want to go the old-fashioned—and very much illegal—route of seeing if that old dealer still makes house calls, they’ll probably have to keep shopping in person.