Chronic Lack Of Diversity? New Mexico's Cannabis Producer Applications Skew White And Male

Two months after New Mexico's Cannabis Control Division (CCD) began accepting applications for producer licenses, more than 1,500 people applied, reported KRQE.com

In September, over 100 businesses were looking to set up shop as cannabis producers, manufacturers or retailers. “We don’t have any limit on the number of people that we’ll license for any of the cannabis businesses,” said John Blair, the deputy superintendent for the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, which oversees CCD.

Most of the applications are for “microbusinesses,” who can produce no more than 200 plants. “If a million New Mexicans want to get a license, we would license a million people,” Bair said, adding that cannabis entrepreneurs can request a provisional license to convince investors or property owners that they’re likely to be granted a license in the near future though a provisional license doesn’t mean you can start growing.

The CCD says it is trying to make sure the industry is diverse. But so far, of the 236 people named in the applications provided to KRQE, nearly 70% self-identify as white.

About 6.8% identify as Native American, either alone or combined with another race. A fair number of applicants (14.4%) noted that they’d prefer not to give their race. Over 48% self-identified as “Not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin,” while 31.8% identified as being of “Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin.”

Photo Terre Di Cannabis On Unsplash