Leaf Brief: Out-of-state weed not welcome

We’re smack-dab in the middle of a heatwave, which means all you home growers out there might want to give those outdoor ladies (or guys if seed harvesting is your thing) a little more care than usual. If you’re in Santa Fe and looking for an air-conditioned joint to light your, well, joint, you’re probably out of luck—but more on that in a bit.

Remember last month when I wrote about murmurs of industry folks lamenting the burgeoning illicit market and an oversaturated legal market? Well, things came to a head at the end of June. Nearly 100 cannabis business owners signed a letter, spearheaded by the Colorado-based Schwazze, asking Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Regulation and Licensing Department to take a breather on issuing more business licenses until things simmer down.

Green Out: Some New Mexico cannabis businesses ask state regulators to chill out on more licenses

Lo and behold, about two weeks after that letter went to the governor and Regulation and Licensing Superintendent Linda Trujillo, the state announced it revoked the license of Paradise Distro, an Albuquerque-based company for having some weed products with California labels. Selling products that didn’t originate from New Mexico is a no-no, according to state law, but it’s also federally illegal to cross state lines with weed. [Insert the More You Know star]

The business in question apparently had been warned once before about some odd empty California packing it had in the store. But when investigators paid the shop another visit, they found distinct California packages and quite a bit of unaccounted for money.

Across State Lines: State weed regulators get first real hit against the illicit market, alleging products sold in New Mexico came from California

In an interview with SFR, the division’s lawyer Robert Sachs says inspectors previously found empty packaging with California labels. The company claimed customers for some reason liked to leave with their buds in the out-of-state packaging. Even though the final decision to revoke the license happened this month, a hearing officer found wrongdoing back in April. Trujillo says we should expect more punishments for bad actors now that the state Legislature gave the department more teeth.

Regulators Mount Up: SFR talks with NM’s weed boss about the latest allegation of an illicit operation and possible future enforcement

This is why we can’t have nice things

There are probably some well-founded objections to the notion that a cannabis lounge is considered a nice thing. Regardless, the lounges are not allowed in the city limits. There are, however, a couple of businesses toying around with alternatives to on-site blazing. Fruit of the Earth Organics is gearing up to cut the ribbon on its event space Paradiso, where it will serve up non-psychoactive herbal drinks along with live music. Canna Fe, across the street from Meow Wolf, is still figuring out exactly what might go in its upstairs space that was once going to be a smoking lounge. The city came up with a fancy new zoning code for weed lounges, but there are exactly zero places in town with that designation.

Can’t-Sumption: City zoning laws against on-site cannabis use spark ire among proprietors who want lounges

Get high and chill

I went and paid Canna Fe a visit to catch a glimpse of what a cannabis event space looks like. It’s hard to ignore the business potential of a lounge (you know, where you can actually consume) within sight of Meow Wolf. Canna Fe’s manager Pamela Martinez Stahnke says all is not lost though. She says we might see some live music events and games available to those who have already consumed, but still need a place that doesn’t harsh mellows.

Leaf Brief Podcast: Episode 7 The Canna Fe dispensary and event space offers a place to chill, but not smoke

Cannabis Cup-date

Last month I wrote about the High Times Cannabis Cup coming to New Mexico. While you’d be hard-pressed to find any more judging kits, if you got one, there’s still more time to finish going through all the submissions. I’m not sure how other fellow judges are doing with all the samples they have to go through, but I went against my own advice and came out of the gate blazing and now have puttered out. I only have a handful of strains left, but I have to admit, after 20 some entries, this whole thing starts to feel a lot like homework. Anyway, keep at it, judges.

Shake: Odds and ends from New Mexico and beyond

• Despite a lot folks vocalizing their concerns about protecting local cannabis businesses, the state can count one more national company—Leune— getting its foot in the door.
• June marked another record for adult-use cannabis in New Mexico, with the Cannabis Control Division reporting more than $33 million in sales. But medical-use sales has hovered around $14 million for the past three months.
• A bunch of nutty things happened after COVID-19 reared its dumb head in 2020, one of which was an increase of cannabis related visits to the emergency room for young people.
• A physician tells NPR that your gangie and pop-pop should probably be careful about how much cannabis they consume and do the thing a lot of us have been saying for years: Take things slow and start with small doses. That’s what science nerds call titrating, boomers.

Word on the street

If you edible fans find yourself in Albuquerque, consider swinging by Carver Family Farm to try out thier low-dose freeze dried candies. Each piece has 2.5 grams of THC, or a fraction of what most gummies or chocolate squares have.

But of course the most important news is SFR’s annual Best of Santa Fe Party happening this Friday at the Railyard from 5 to 9 pm. Come down and say hi, or scowl from a distance. Either way, we’ll be showcasing the winners of this year’s competition and it will be a blast.