New Mexico
Integrated with and BioTrack and compliant with New Mexico Department of Health and Cannabis Control Division regulations
Regulatory Framework
The primary regulatory body for adult-use cannabis in New Mexico is the Cannabis Control Division (CCD), operating under the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD) [1]. The New Mexico Department of Health oversees the medical cannabis patient program [5].
Legal Status
Market | Status | Statute |
---|---|---|
Adult-Use | Legal | Cannabis Regulation Act (HB 2, 2021) [10] |
Medical | Legal | Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act (2007) [17] |
Homegrow | Legal | Cannabis Regulation Act (HB 2, 2021) [10] |
Legislation
- New Mexico State Records Center and Archives - TITLE 16, CHAPTER 8, PART 7
- 2023 - Senate Bill 242
- 2021 - House Bill 2
- 2020 - House Bill 160
Track-and-Trace
New Mexico utilizes the BioTrack system for cannabis tracking and reporting [16].
New Mexico BioTrack Traceability API Documentation
The State Traceability Portal and API are available at mcp-tracking.nmhealth.org.
The API for this system is spread across three versions. Most of the work will be done with the V1 API. Authentication is with a Company ID, Username and Password for both the UI and the API (but the parameters are slightly different in each API version).
- API Documentation v1 - The foundational API (we call it v2014)
- API Documentation v2 - Uses ISO Dates, Schema Improvements, Added B2B Features (we call this v2021)
- API Documentation v3 - Improvement for Dispense and Patient Search (we call this v2022)
Licensing
The Cannabis Control Division issues various licenses for adult-use cannabis businesses, including:
License Catagory | Tier/Class | Description |
---|---|---|
Cannabis Consumption Area | - | "A licensed premise where cannabis products may be served and consumed. Alcohol cannot be sold or consumed in a cannabis consumption area. Local jurisdictions may deny cannabis consumption area licenses." [13] |
Cannabis Courier | - | "A person or business licensed to transport cannabis products to qualified patients, primary caregivers, or reciprocal participants, or directly to consumers." [13] |
Cannabis Manufacturer | Class I | "A person or business licensed to processes and prepare cannabis into usable cannabis products." [13] "A licensee that only packages or repackages cannabis products, or labels or relabels the cannabis product container." [18] |
Class II | "A licensee that conducts Class I activities, and manufactures edible products or topical products using infusion processes, or other types of cannabis products other than extracts or concentrates, and does not conduct extractions." [18] | |
Class III | "A licensee that conducts Class I and Class II activities, and extracts using mechanical methods or nonvolatile solvents." [18] | |
Class IV | Class IV: A licensee that conducts Class I, Class II, and Class III activities, and extracts using volatile solvents or supercritical CO2. [18] | |
Cannabis Producer | Tier Level 1 | "A person or business licensed to cultivate cannabis plants; has unprocessed cannabis plants; has unprocessed cannabis products tested by a third-party cannabis testing lab; transport unprocessed products only to other cannabis establishments; or sell cannabis products wholesale." [13] 201 – 2,000 mature cannabis plants. [19] |
Tier Level 2 | 2,001 – 6,000 mature cannabis plants. [19] | |
Tier Level 3 | 6,001 – 12,000 mature cannabis plants. [19] | |
Tier Level 4 | 12,001 – 16,000 mature cannabis plants. [19] | |
Cannabis Producer Microbusiness | - | "A producer limited to no more than two hundred (200) total mature cannabis plants at any one time." [13] |
Cannabis Research Laboratory | - | "A license forr possession of cannabis products and all parts of the plant genus Cannabis for the purpose of studying cannabis cultivation, characteristics, or uses." [13] |
Cannabis Retailer | - | "A person or business licensed to sell cannabis products to qualified patients; primary caregivers or reciprocal participants; or directly to consumers twenty-one (21) years of age and older with active, valid identification." [13] |
Cannabis Testing Laboratory | - | "A licensed facility that produces or possesses cannabis products and all parts of the plant genus Cannabis for the purpose of studying cannabis cultivation, characteristics, or uses. A cannabis research laboratory does not test cannabis or cannabis products for wholesale or retail use." [13] |
Integrated Cannabis Microbusiness (Micb) | Class I | "A person or business authorized to conduct one or more the following: production of cannabis at a single licensed premises with no more than two hundred (200) total mature cannabis plants at any one time in their possession; manufacture of cannabis products at a single licensed premises; sales and transportation of only cannabis products produced or manufactured by that person or business; operation of only one (1) retail establishment; couriering of cannabis products to qualified patients, primary caregivers or reciprocal participants, or directly to consumers. A micro integrated cannabis business (MICB) may not have multiple sublicenses of each type under the mother MICB license, only one (1) of each function." [13] "A licensee that only packages or repackages cannabis products, or labels or relabels the cannabis product container." [20] |
Class II | "A licensee that conducts Class I activities, and manufactures edible products or topical products using infusion processes, or other types of cannabis products other than extracts or concentrates, and does not conduct extractions." [20] | |
Class III | "A licensee that conducts Class I and Class II activities, and extracts using mechanical methods or nonvolatile solvents." [20] | |
Class IV | Class IV: A licensee that conducts Class I, Class II, and Class III activities, and extracts using volatile solvents or supercritical CO2. [20] | |
Vertically Integrated Cannabis Establishment (Vic) | - | "A person or business authorized to act as any of the following: a cannabis courier, a cannabis manufacturer, a cannabis producer, or a cannabis retailer. A vertically integrated cannabis establishment may have multiple sublicenses of each type under the mother VIC license." [13] |
Possession Limits
Item | Possession Limit |
---|---|
Dried Cannabis Flower | 2 ounces [8] |
Cannabis Concentrate | 16 grams [8] |
Edibles | 800 milligrams [8] |
Homegrow | Adults in New Mexico are permitted to grow up to six plants per person or 12 plants per household [10] |
Individuals can possess larger amounts of cannabis at their private residences [8].
Medical Cannabis
Patients with qualifying conditions can register with the New Mexico Department of Health's Medical Cannabis Program (MCP) to obtain a medical cannabis card. Registered patients can purchase cannabis from licensed dispensaries and, under certain conditions, cultivate a limited number of plants at home [10] [14]. Qualifying conditions include [14]:
- Alzheimer's Disease
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
- Anxiety Disorder
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Cancer
- Crohn's Disease
- Damage to the Nervous Tissue of the Spinal Cord (with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity)
- Epilepsy/Seizure Disorder
- Friedreich's Ataxia
- Glaucoma
- Hepatitis C Infection currently receiving antiviral therapy
- HIV/AIDS
- Hospice Care
- Huntington’s disease
- Inclusion Body Myositis
- Inflammatory Autoimmune-mediated Arthritis
- Insomnia
- Intractable Nausea/Vomiting
- Lewy Body Disease
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- Opioid Use Disorder
- Painful Peripheral Neuropathy
- Parkinson’s disease
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Severe Anorexia/Cachexia
- Severe Chronic Pain
- Spasmodic Torticollis (Cervical Dystonia)
- Spinal Muscular Atrophy
- Ulcerative Colitis
Patient may petition the Medical Advisory Board to add their condition to the current list. [14]
Additional Resources
- Wikipedia: Cannabis in New Mexico https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_in_New_Mexico
- New Mexico Cannabis Control Division website: https://www.rld.nm.gov/cannabis/
- New Mexico Department of Health Medical Cannabis Program website: https://www.nmhealth.org/about/mcp/svcs/
References
- [1] https://www.rld.nm.gov/cannabis/
- [2] https://www.rld.nm.gov/
- [3] https://crop.rld.nm.gov/
- [4] https://www.rld.nm.gov/cannabis/
- [5] https://www.nmhealth.org/about/mcp/svcs/
- [6] https://mcp-tracking.nmhealth.org/
- [7] https://www.mpp.org/states/new-mexico/new-mexicos-hb-2-the-cannabis-regulation-act/
- [8] https://www.rld.nm.gov/cannabis/cannabis-in-new-mexico/adult-use/
- [9] https://kvia.com/news/new-mexico/2021/06/29/recreational-pot-now-legal-in-new-mexico/
- [10] https://nmlegis.gov/Sessions/21%20Special/final/HB0002.pdf
- [11] https://www.rld.nm.gov/cannabis/licensing/new-applications/how-to-apply/
- [12] https://www.mpp.org/states/new-mexico/new-mexicos-hb-2-the-cannabis-regulation-act/
- [13] https://www.rld.nm.gov/cannabis/licensing/apply-renew-a-cannabis-license/
- [14] https://www.nmhealth.org/about/mcp/svcs/hpp/
- [15] https://potguide.com/new-mexico/marijuana-laws/
- [16] https://www.rld.nm.gov/cannabis/licensing/current-licensees/how-to-resources/biotrack-resources/
- [17] https://nmlegis.gov/Sessions/07%20Regular/final/SB0523.pdf
- [18] https://www.rld.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Guidance-Class-1-Manufacturing-Requirements.pdf
- [19] https://www.rld.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CCD_Production_Inspection_Checklist-Updated-1.30.2024.pdf
- [20] https://www.rld.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vertically-Integrated-Cannabis-Establishment-New-License-Application.pdf