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Greetings! The big news this month is the Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners adopted a cannabis zoning ordinance at a meeting on July 30. Local farmers were concerned that the rules in the original staff proposal were too restrictive and would create a high barrier of entry into the industry. After four hours of discussion, the board passed an ordinance that allows for more control in the county’s traditional communities.
More big news—the kind you won’t believe unless you’re actually paying attention: The City of Santa Fe is still lagging behind, as we reported last month and the month before. The City Council asked for community input to help inform zoning rules at its meeting on July 28, which was delayed until the following Monday due to technical difficulties. A couple of residents took advantage of public comment at the rescheduled meeting, but their remarks weren’t about cannabis. Then, at the Aug. 6 Santa Fe Planning Commission meeting, members of a subcommittee talked about their recommendations but the board didn’t take action. Read their report here.
We also reported that the Santa Fe Police Department hasn’t done in-depth training on probable cause for searches—now that the sight or smell of cannabis alone no longer allows cops to search you or your vehicle—and has no plans to do so. A nationally-recognized legal expert warns this could lead to constitutional rights violations.
Scroll down for more news from around the state and nation.
Santa Fe County Adopts Cannabis Zoning
Ordinance has provision for more control in traditional communities
Low Priority
With cannabis legalization changing the landscape, Santa Fe Police Department lacks in-depth, updated training on probable cause for searches
Members appointed to state advisory committee
The state’s Cannabis Control Division (CCD) announced the members of the Cannabis Regulatory Advisory Committee, which advises the division on the development of rules and regulations for the soon-to-be legal cannabis scene, on Aug. 6. Members include First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, Chief Public Defender Bennett Baur and Emily Kaltenbach of the Drug Policy Alliance. The committee had its first meeting on Aug. 10; Kaltenbach, a mainstay in the push to legalize, was elected chair.
No gifts allowed
CCD sent a Las Cruces shop called Speak Easy a cease and desist letter after it learned the shop was “gifting” cannabis with the purchase of stickers. In exchange for buying a $15 sticker, customers received 1.5 grams of cannabis. The deputy superintendent of the Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD) said the shop was selling cannabis before it was licensed to do so. Speak Easy’s lawyer, while conceding that the shop will comply with the order, argued that the legal guidance on “gifting” isn’t clear. A spokesperson for RLD said the issue might require the Legislature to make adjustments to the law.
High demand
RLD Superintendent Linda Trujillo told state lawmakers that retailers will likely sell out of cannabis within one to two weeks when sales begin next year, based on data from states that have already opened a recreational market. That’s why the biggest priority right now is to start growing plants to meet consumer demand. Trujillo said the state will need nearly 500,000 plants.
“Needs not weed”
Reps. Tom Rice (R-SC) and Jackie Walorski (R-IN) introduced a bill on July 19 to block people from using federal financial assistance at cannabis dispensaries. If passed, it would prohibit the use of welfare benefit cards for purchases at stores that sell cannabis. Legalization advocates say the bill—called the “Welfare for Needs not Weed Act”—perpetuates harmful stigma around cannabis, and that for millions of medical patients, cannabis is, in fact, a need.
Social equity
Connecticut passed legalization less than two months ago, and the state’s newly formed Social Equity Council has already made progress. During its first meeting on Aug. 5, the council approved a list of geographic areas disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. The state will use the list to determine eligibility for social equity licenses, which, under the law’s requirements, make up half of all licenses. New Mexico’s law includes language about enacting procedures to encourage drug-war-impacted communities to participate in the industry, but so far the state hasn’t taken up social equity in its rules and regulations.
Right to your front door
Changing course, Apple will now allow apps that facilitate cannabis sales. The old App Store policy prohibited apps that “encourage the consumption of tobacco and vape products, illegal drugs, or excessive amounts of alcohol,” and those that facilitate the sale of “controlled substances (except for licensed pharmacies), marijuana, or tobacco.” The policy was updated on June 7 to make an exemption for “licensed or otherwise legal cannabis dispensaries.” The first cannabis delivery app—called Eaze, it has 2 million registered customers in California—got approval a month later.