NEW MEXICO
One of the largest cannabis businesses in the state is now closing a prime Santa Fe space.
Duke Rodriguez, CEO at Ultra Health, said: “Unfortunately, you may have set the standard so low… Many of them are experiencing the New Mexico nightmare.”
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Rodriguez believes that the New Mexico recreational cannabis market has been a nightmare for nearly two years. He says that cannabis retailers are now being forced to close. Rodriguez said that when you set up a program without any restrictions on who can apply and how hard it is to obtain a license, a lot of people are invited to the party.
He continued, “The challenges of saturation will not go away.”
In total, there are 1,050 cannabis retailers licensed in the state. Around 680 licensees or 65% of them are reporting sales, which means that they’re in business. The governor promised that this would be an open industry for anyone to participate, but I don’t believe anybody expected this many people,” said Ben Lewinger. Executive director of the NM Cannabis Chamber of Commerce.
Many industry leaders predicted that cannabis retail closures would be a major problem in 2024. Lewinger said, “I expect to see more shops close in the future. This includes small and medium-sized stores but also larger operators. The market is so competitive at present.”
Ultra Health, a larger operation with over 40 locations, is closing a shop in Santa Fe. They will close their shop at Cerillos Road by the end of this month. It’s one of the most busy roads in the city. Rodriguez said that although they don’t like to close locations, in this instance it was a good decision because there are already over 1,000 licensed dispensaries in New Mexico.
Rodriguez said that the high rents and only a few hundred dollar sales per day were what led to this decision. Lewinger said, “The sad thing is that many businesses will shut their doors. But again, that’s just the flipside of the coin because everyone has their chance to participate in this business.”
