Leaf Brief

Leaf Brief: Buying in Bulk

If New Mexicans were hoping for a burgeoning and competitive cannabis market, it seems we have arrived. Although things could change down the road, the cost of wholesale cannabis has dropped by half since Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Legislature legalized adult-use cannabis. That means the state’s cannabis industry is thriving and more competitive, at least according to some of the folks we talked to, though consumers aren’t seeing lower prices when they visit their bud tenders. Oh, New Mexico saw its highest cannabis sales ever in August to boot.

From SFR

Cannabis Capitalism: Reports of lower wholesale prices are good for the market, but probably won’t result in lower retail prices

Dispensary Directory: We’ve updated our list on where to buy cannabis flower, edibles, extracts and more in Santa Fe

(High) times are changin’...

Any weed smokers who have lived in New Mexico long enough probably have fond memories of sparking a doob somewhere in the state fair’s midway. Others may have not so fond memories of said doob attracting the attention of State Police in said midway. The New Mexico State Fair is still a ways off from giving the green light to smoke away before chomping into a giant turkey leg, but there was a cannabis exhibit this year. Expo New Mexico General Manager Dan Mourning told KOB-TV, “If you can’t smoke a cigarette out here, you can’t smoke a joint either. So, let’s get that straightened out.” Again, regular fair-goers know what’s not allowed and what actually happens are two different things. Anyone who didn’t get a chance to check out the new weed exhibit by now are out of luck though. The fair ended yesterday.

Speaking of normalizing cannabis use: Down in Las Cruces, a dispensary finally got approval from the city to open near The New America School. The state’s Cannabis Regulation Act doesn’t prohibit dispensaries from being close to schools, but it does say local governments can’t require those businesses be “any more than three hundred feet from a school or daycare.” For some context, Sunland Park, which is confusingly close to El Paso and a quick drive from Las Cruces, requires dispensaries to be no closer than 200 feet from schools. Santa Fe’s cannabis ordinance sticks to the 300-foot baseline in state law. A new America, indeed.

When lawmakers and the governor approved legalization last year, they also approved a companion bill that in theory automatically clears old weed charges. But as with many things that come out of the Roundhouse, there are a lot of ins, outs and what-have-yous. Green Goods, which is owned by the same national company as Red Barn in Santa Fe, sponsored an expungement clinic of sorts earlier this month. The company teamed up with the New Mexico Department of Public Safety for the event and they plan to hold another on Oct. 1.

But not changin’ that much

In “of course” news, President Joe Biden’s administration doesn’t seem to want to move the needle on legalization, at least not before the mid-terms. Biden has been clear on his stance of leaving legalization up to states, clearing old criminal pot records and de-scheduling the plant. But even everyone’s favorite Dr. Oz troll and US Senate candidate, John Fetterman, didn’t seem to sway the president. Fetterman, who is Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, publicly called on Biden to “use his executive authority” to remove cannabis from the list of Schedule I drugs, which include methamphetamines, heroin, LSD and ecstasy. Or as the DEA puts it: “Drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” A Second Circuit US Court of Appeals panel even recently said it’s “irrational” to include cannabis with other Schedule I drugs, but, they said, it’s not unconstitutional.

Stoners who really like to run fast probably still won’t be able to get a shot at competing in the Olympics. The World Anti-Doping Agency, which sounds like a bummer of a place to work, seems set on keeping weed on its list of prohibited substances

In “Who would have guessed?” news: A recent study found that residents in states with legal weed…wait for it…smoke it more.

Word on the street

There has been a lot of chatter about some of the flower coming out of Lava Leaf Organics, based in Farmington. The company, run by Tony Martinez and his family, was the first to get a cultivation license from the state, but is still working on opening a retail location. Tony, we hear, is able to grow flower with terpene levels around 4 %, which is apparently a lot. Here’s a good primer on terpenes. We’ll let you intrepid stoners find which dispensaries are selling bud from “Tony Terp,” as we have affectionately taken to calling him.

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