Smoke 'em if you got 'em, but not just yet: Recreational marijuana use is legal in New Mexico starting June 29. The state's legal sale of recreational marijuana begins no later than April 2022.
VOA News reported that New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed legislation legalizing recreational marijuana use within months with commercial sales next year, making it it the seventh state since November to legalize pot.
"Our goal would be to take it live with commercial sales before April first," Linda Trujillo, superintendent of the state's Regulation and Licensing Department, told KOB 4.
Marijuana Business Daily projects an adult-use market that will generate $125 million in sales the first year, and $350 million annually by the fourth year, MJBIZ Daily reported.
“We want to make sure we’re not just creating an industry for the wealthy people,” House member Javier Martinez (D-Albuquerque) said, as reported by MJBIZ Daily.
Drug Policy Alliance Senior Director Emily Kaltenbach said the legislation will “ensure equitable opportunities for farmers and other small businesses,” MJBIZ reported.
“New Mexicans are finally able to exhale,” Kaltenbach said, as reported by MJBIZ Daily. “After many years of hard work, another whirlwind legislative session, and input from stakeholders throughout the state, social justice-centered cannabis legalization is on its way to the Governor’s desk, where she has already agreed to sign.”
Trujillo told VOA News that people age 21 and over will be allowed to grow marijuana at home, and possess up to 56 grams (2 ounces) of marijuana, outside their homes starting on June 29. This calculates to about six plants per person or 12 per household, and the scent of pot will no longer be grounds for police search and seizures.
License applications for producers will be accepted by the Cannabis Control Division no later than Sept. 1, and all license applications must be in by Jan. 1, 2022. Those who wish to commercially sell marijuana must be state-licensed to do so.
New Mexico also plans to create a Cannabis Regulatory Advisory Committee by the Sept. 1 deadline, KOB 4 reported.