New Mexico: Two Months Into Regulated Cannabis Market, Sales Stabilize At $38.5M

Two months after recreational cannabis was legalized in New Mexico, medicinal and adult-use sales exceeded $38.5 million, reported Las Cruces Sun-News on Friday.

Although New Mexico opened four new dispensaries during May, sales were $1 million less than the first month (April).

Medical cannabis sales, which are not subject to tax, rose slightly in May and accounted for 45 percent of revenue. Meanwhile, recreational cannabis accounted for about 55 percent of revenue. 

The New Mexico's Cannabis Control Division (CCD), in charge of regulating cannabis production, manufacturing and sales reported the first month's figures last week.
Licensed dispensaries statewide sold $38,532,757, of which $21,100,804 was from adult-use.

Retailers paid $1.6 million in gross receipts tax for April, which includes sales of non-cannabis products in their stores and $2.4 million in excise taxes, said the CCD.

Sales of medical cannabis totaled $17,431,954 in May.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico's most populous city, sales of medical cannabis increased while overall sales fell slightly. Dispensaries sold $14.4 million in total, including $7.3 million for adult use.

In cities near the border with Texas, where cannabis is illegal, sales remained strong. The highest amount of sales was in major population centers. Six of the top 10 were the southern New Mexico communities of Las Cruces, Hobbs, Sunland Park, Carlsbad, Alamogordo and Ruidoso.

The CCD projects $300 million in sales and $50 million in tax revenue during New Mexico's first year of legal cannabis.
Photo By Scott Elkins On Unsplash