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Maine Officials Report ‘Mass Exodus’ of Caregivers Amid Rec Sales

May 5, 2023 Published by

According to officials in Maine, the number of caregivers applying to supply medical cannabis in the state is plummeting.

The Sun Journal reports that over a quarter of Maine businesses in the state’s medical cannabis industry have closed down in the last two years. Maine regulators pointed out another glaring problem, the loss of caretakers, and blamed it on oversupply in the state’s medical industry, among other problems.

The spring report from the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) describes a “mass exodus” of 1,350 caregivers who are registered with the state to supply medical-use cannabis for patients.

Despite the number of people joining the industry, from the end of 2021 to the beginning of 2023 there’s been a net loss of about 950 caregivers. Officials counted 2,070 caregivers as of March 31, according to state data. In 2021, there were 3,032 caregivers recorded, and at the program’s peak in 2016, there were 3,257 caregivers. 

The report outlines several reasons why they think caregivers are leaving the program.

“The Maine Medical Use of Cannabis Program (MMCP) saw over 1350 caregivers exit the program from the end of 2021 to the end of January 2023,” the report reads. “The impacts of this exodus—a net loss of over 800 caregivers—have been felt by the remaining caregivers and resulted in a number of unsubstantiated claims about why this trend has emerged and why caregivers are continuing to leave the program. Rather than relying on anecdotal evidence, in early 2023, the Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) surveyed former caregivers to gain a better understanding of why so many registrants exited the program.”

The OCP blames Maine lawmakers for refusing to update statutes for five years. Even though over 1,000 caregivers have left the program, supply has been uninterrupted, which the OCP proves the market is oversaturated. The report also highlights steep utility and business costs, competition with the adult-use market, and banking restrictions. 

“This survey makes clear that the biggest issue facing the medical program is oversupply,” John Hudak, director of the Office of Cannabis Policy, said in a statement. “That oversupply has led to massive drops in wholesale price, making it difficult for registrants to endure mounting energy costs and other market conditions.”

The report also identifies another problem, that caregivers feel as though they are under constant threat, walking on eggshells, in order to not break any rules. Caregivers say that a mandatory track-and-trace system, installed under a recent law, would be too expensive for them to handle, for instance. Clearly a lot of patients found that they can get cannabis just as easily with a state ID at adult-use businesses.

Caregivers Revolt

Caregivers were asked by the OCP in a survey to explain why they aren’t signing up for the state’s medical cannabis program.

“More regulation of the size of recreational cannabis businesses,” one caregiver wrote when they were asked for public comment. “We have allowed big businesses to come in and open recreational cannabis grows and stores. Nobody in the public domain wants to pay $50 for a medical card.” 

The former caregiver continued, “Nobody with a small business can afford to compete with the over-saturated market, at a time when prices are going up on electricity and rent (more than double) the recreational market has destroyed medical simply by growing more and dropping prices to rock bottom. Incidentally, our medical market is flooded with caregivers that are forced to sell illegally on the side just to survive in today’s market.” 

It’s important to note, however, that the response rate of the caregiver survey was just 8% or 117 completed surveys out of more than 1,300 people who were contacted. The report identifies several things that need to change in order for Maine’s medical cannabis industry to survive. 

The post Maine Officials Report ‘Mass Exodus’ of Caregivers Amid Rec Sales appeared first on High Times.

Recent Report Proposes Adult-Use Cannabis Sales Growth up to $50.7B by 2028

February 17, 2023 Published by

The Brightfield Group recently released its “U.S. Cannabis Market Forecast” on Feb. 16, which presents data of comparisons from cannabis sales in 2022, and five-year sales projections between 2023 and 2028. According to the report, the cannabis industry is poised to reach more than $31.8 billion in annual sales by the end of this year, with a projected $50.7 billion by 2028.

The cannabis industry has recently seen a dip in sales in some markets, such as Arizona and Colorado. Brightfield Group insights manager Matt Zehner says that the outlook on cannabis sales is attributed to the expansion of cannabis into other markets. “2022 was a big year for cannabis, with seven state markets beginning sales (six adult-use, one medical), four of which only commenced in the latter half of the year,” Zehner told Forbes. “These markets are expected to have sizable growth over the course of the year, particularly those in populous states such as New Jersey and New York, both of which have had somewhat slow openings so far. New York only began sales in the last few days of 2022, so 2023 is effectively the market’s first year.”

This pace is expected to continue throughout this year, with states like Maryland gearing up to launch its adult-use program as well. Zehner also cited Maine and Michigan as markets that have seen steady growth.

On a regional scale, the Brightfield Group states that the eastern U.S. has the potential to be a multi-state hub for cannabis. Nine of the states on the East Coast have medical cannabis, and seven have legalized adult-use cannabis.

Adult-use cannabis sales from states on the West Coast, specifically Colorado and Washington, could grow to $11.5 billion by the end of 2023, and $15.3 billion by 2028. Not to mention that states that have more recently begun adult-use sales, such as Arizona and New Mexico, will also contribute to this projection. However, medical cannabis on the West Coast is expected to decrease in sales, from $2.3 billion in 2022 to $2 billion by 2028.

An explosion of growth is expected in the Midwest, with sales starting soon in Missouri. Although adult-use sales haven’t been approved in Ohio or Minnesota yet, these markets are expected to legalize within the next few years.

The Southern region of the U.S. will likely see the least amount of growth, with a focus mainly on medical cannabis sales.

Brightfield also examined the popularity of cannabis product categories and found that flower still leads the industry with $11.6 billion in sales in 2022, followed by vape products with $5.9 billion in sales by the end of last year, and finally infused beverages, which reached $290 million in 2022, and could potentially hit $640 million by 2028.

Other market reports are also finding how cannabis, as well as the expansion of psychedelic drugs in general, will continue to grow. According to a report from Brandessence Market Research that was published in January, the global market for psychedelic drugs (such as psilocybin, ketamine, and LSD) could reach $4.87 billion in 2022, and $11.82 by 2029.

The report states that the market has become fiercely competitive already, both with businesses eagerly trying to gain a foothold for their businesses, but also because of the rise in acceptance of psychedelics for certain medical conditions. “Additionally, the rising prevalence of depression and other mental disorders worldwide and increasing demand for treatment, are the key factors supplementing the growth of the psychedelic drugs market,” the report states. “Furthermore, changes in lifestyle and the desire for a higher and better quality of life [are] expected to contribute toward the market growth. And also increase in R&D initiatives in the sector of psychedelic medicine is projected to drive market expansion during the forecast period.”

Likewise, the hemp industry is on the rise as well, with a projection of up to $18.1 billion by 2027.

The post Recent Report Proposes Adult-Use Cannabis Sales Growth up to $50.7B by 2028 appeared first on High Times.

Rhode Island Rakes In $1.6 Million in First Week of Recreational Pot Sales

December 12, 2022 Published by

Rhode Island’s new adult-use cannabis market opened for business earlier this month, and so far, business is good. 

Local news station WPRI, citing the state’s Department of Business Regulation, reported this week that “Rhode Island’s six marijuana dispensaries — five of which are currently authorized to sell to recreational customers — collectively sold just over $1.63 million worth of marijuana from Dec. 1 to Dec. 7.” 

“Less than half of those sales were for recreational marijuana, at about $786,000. The rest, about $845,400, were sales to medical marijuana patients,” the station reported. “For comparison, during the last week of October — the most recent full week available prior to recreational sales — the dispensaries collectively sold $1 million worth of medical marijuana.”

Rhode Island legalized recreational cannabis use in May, when Gov. Dan McKee signed a bill that was passed by lawmakers in the state General Assembly. 

The law made it legal for adults aged 21 and older to cultivate and possess marijuana, while also establishing the regulatory framework for cannabis sales. 

“This bill successfully incorporates our priorities of making sure cannabis legalization is equitable, controlled, and safe,” McKee, a Democrat, said in a statement at the time. “In addition, it creates a process for the automatic expungement of past cannabis convictions. My Administration’s original legalization plan also included such a provision and I am thrilled that the Assembly recognized the importance of this particular issue. The end result is a win for our state both socially and economically.”

Additionally, the law “will give courts until July 1, 2024, to automatically expunge past convictions, and those who want their expungement sooner may request it,” the governor’s office explained in a press release at the time.

Late last month, McKee and the state’s Department of Business Regulation’s Office of Cannabis Regulation announced that “five licensed medical marijuana compassion centers have received state approval to begin selling adult use marijuana on or after December 1.”

The five “compassion centers” that were given approval to begin adult-use sales are: Aura of Rhode Island (Central Falls); Thomas C. Slater Center (Providence); Mother Earth Wellness (Pawtucket); Greenleaf Compassionate Care Center (Portsmouth); and RISE Warwick (Warwick).

“This milestone is the result of a carefully executed process to ensure that our state’s entry into this emerging market was done in a safe, controlled and equitable manner,” McKee said last month. “It is also a win for our statewide economy and our strong, locally based cannabis supply chain, which consists of nearly 70 licensed cultivators, processors and manufacturers in addition to our licensed compassion centers. Finally, I thank the leadership of the General Assembly for passing this practical implementation framework in the Rhode Island Cannabis Act and I look forward to continuing our work together on this issue.”

Matt Santacroce, who is serving as interim deputy director of the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation, said last month that the state was “pleased with the quality and comprehensiveness of the applications we received from the state’s compassion centers, and we are proud to launch adult use sales in Rhode Island just six months after the Cannabis Act was signed into law, marking the Northeast’s fastest implementation period.”

“We look forward to continuing to work with the state’s cannabis business community to ensure this critical economic sector scales in compliance with the rules and regulations put forward by state regulators,” Santacroce said. 

The launch of recreational sales on December 1 was only one change to Rhode Island’s existing marijuana policy to arrive this month. 

WPRI reported that, on the same day, “the state also stopped charging medical patients to obtain or renew their medical marijuana cards,” adding that “there is an expected revenue loss from the pending plan to expunge marijuana possession charges, which will eliminate court fees from those crimes.”

The post Rhode Island Rakes In $1.6 Million in First Week of Recreational Pot Sales appeared first on High Times.

Recreational Pot Sales Begin in Rhode Island

December 2, 2022 Published by

Licensed sales of adult-use cannabis began in Rhode Island on Thursday, only six months after Governor Dan McKee signed legislation to legalize recreational marijuana for adults aged 21 and older. Five stores began selling adult-use cannabis on December 1, with more licensed retailers expected to begin business operations in the coming weeks.

The five retailers who launched adult-use cannabis sales on Thursday were all already licensed to sell medical marijuana to patients registered with the state’s medicinal cannabis program. By the end of next month, two additional so-called hybrid retailers will add recreational marijuana sales to their existing medical cannabis operations. 

Last week, the governor marked the impending launch of adult-use cannabis sales as the December 1 launch date approached.

“This milestone is the result of a carefully executed process to ensure that our state’s entry into this emerging market was done in a safe, controlled and equitable manner,” McKee said in a November 22 statement from the governor’s office. “It is also a win for our statewide economy and our strong, locally based cannabis supply chain, which consists of nearly 70 licensed cultivators, processors and manufacturers in addition to our licensed compassion centers. Finally, I thank the leadership of the General Assembly for passing this practical implementation framework in the Rhode Island Cannabis Act and I look forward to continuing our work together on this issue.”

Recreational Marijuana Legalized In May

Matt Santacroce, chief of the Rhode Island Office of Cannabis Regulation and interim deputy director of the Department of Business Regulation, noted the speed with which state regulators had authorized the launch of recreational marijuana sales after McKee signed legislation legalizing adult-use cannabis in May.

“We were pleased with the quality and comprehensiveness of the applications we received from the state’s compassion centers, and we are proud to launch adult use sales in Rhode Island just six months after the Cannabis Act was signed into law, marking the Northeast’s fastest implementation period,” said Santacroce. “We look forward to continuing to work with the state’s cannabis business community to ensure this critical economic sector scales in compliance with the rules and regulations put forward by state regulators.

State officials are not expecting a surge in cannabis use because medical marijuana has been legal since 2006 and recreational cannabis is available in neighboring states. 

“It’s a good opportunity for Rhode Islanders to buy safe, regulated cannabis products in the convenience of their own town or area of the state,” Santacroce told the Boston Globe. “If you are used to going to Massachusetts or wherever, you can save time and gas. We will generate state and local tax revenue that didn’t exist before. And we have the opportunity to capture value in our market, in our industry, in our supply chain. That’s a big deal.”

Under state law, adults are permitted to smoke cannabis wherever tobacco smoking is allowed, unless the use poses potential harm to children. The legislation passed in May also includes provisions to expunge prior cannabis possession offenses no longer illegal under current law.

Taxes On Recreational Weed Total 20%

Taxes on recreational sales include a 10% state cannabis excise tax in addition to the 7% state sales tax, plus an additional 3% local tax for the city or town in which the sale takes place. Taxes on recreational marijuana sales are expected to generate about $15 million in tax revenues in the first full fiscal year of sales. State officials project regulated marijuana sales to generate about $7.5 million in state excise tax revenue, $5.2 million in state sales tax revenue, and $2.2 million in local excise tax revenue.

Cannabis retailer Mother Earth Wellness in Pawtucket opened three hours earlier than its normal 8:00 a.m. opening time to get a jump on the first day of legal recreational marijuana sales, and the shop’s first recreational marijuana transaction was rung up at 5:18 a.m. The dispensary saw about 300 customers visit the dispensary by mid-morning, about 80% of whom were recreational buyers.

“We’ve had a very successful day,” Mother Earth Wellness co-owner Joe Pakuris told the Associated Press. “I think it has been a smooth transition and the state has done an excellent job of rolling out this program. Everything’s great.”

The post Recreational Pot Sales Begin in Rhode Island appeared first on High Times.

Arizona Cannabis: Recreational Sales Sky-High While Medical Sales Plummet

August 17, 2022 Published by

The two regulated cannabis markets in Arizona are currently heading in different directions.

For the Grand Canyon State’s newly launched recreational pot industry, business is booming. Arizona’s medical cannabis decade-old market, meanwhile, continues to see lagging sales.

Citing figures from Arizona’s Department of Revenue, the AZ Mirror reports that “sales of medical cannabis dipped to slightly less than $45 million in May, their lowest total since January 2021, when adults were first allowed to purchase marijuana for recreational use,” while “initial estimates from tax collectors peg recreational sales at $76.5 million, the fifth time adult-use sales surpassed the $70 million mark.”

In addition, the state Department of Revenue “revised April’s sales upward to $81.2 million, up from the initial estimate of $75.5 million, making it the best sales month yet for recreational cannabis,” according to the AZ Mirror, topping the previous record of $80.4 million in March.

But while recreational pot sales have continued to climb, medical cannabis sales have gone the other way.

“Medical cannabis sales dropped precipitously for the seventh month in a row to slightly less than $45 million in May, only the second time in the past year medical sales dropped below the $50 million mark,” the AZ Mirror reported. “Preliminary numbers for June indicate $33.7 million in medical sales with recreational sales already on pace to hit another record, with $66.4 million reported so far.”

Arizona legalized medical cannabis in 2010, and the first sales launched two years later. In 2020, voters there approved a ballot proposal that legalized recreational cannabis for adults aged 21 and older. Adult-use sales began in January 2021.

In the first year, medical cannabis sales still outpaced recreational sales. The state reported that its two cannabis industries combined to generate more than $1 billion in revenue in 2021, with medical sales generating $703,803,194 and recreational sales pulling in $528,001,278.

“Rarely does an industry produce over $1.2 billion in revenue in its first year. This number shows that the legalization of cannabis is something Arizonans believe strongly in and the many benefits it contributes to the state’s economy,” said Samuel Richard, the Executive Director of the Arizona Dispensaries Association (ADA), after those figures were released in January.

Much like in other states that have also legalized adult-use cannabis, Arizona’s new recreational law contains social equity provisions designed to provide individuals from communities disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs with opportunities to the regulated pot industry.

The state has planned to award dozens of dispensary licenses to individuals who were adversely impacted by erstwhile marijuana laws. And last summer, Arizona introduced classes for social equity applicants “to ensure that social equity applicants are prepared for the application process and the challenges of running a marijuana business,” the state’s Department of Health Services said at the time.

The classes entailed “two days of content and education focused on a number of aspects of operating an adult-use marijuana business, including legal requirements, business practices, regulatory compliance, and fundraising, as well as marketing and strategic growth.”

“The social equity ownership program is intended to promote the ownership and operation of licensed Marijuana Establishments by individuals from communities disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of previous marijuana laws,” the department said in the announcement last August. “Social equity license holders will be required to comply with all statutes and rules that govern Adult-Use Marijuana Establishment licenses, including obtaining approval to operate before opening their retail location. Additionally, social equity license holders will be required to develop and implement policies to document how the Marijuana Establishment will provide a benefit to one or more communities disproportionately affected by the enforcement of Arizona’s previous marijuana laws.”

The post Arizona Cannabis: Recreational Sales Sky-High While Medical Sales Plummet appeared first on High Times.

Portland Weed Demand Hits Three-Year Low

July 13, 2022 Published by

According to an Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) database, Portland, Oregon area pot sales hit the lowest number of sales in three years. However, some experts blame the drop in sales on the temporary pandemic hump.

In June 2022, retail cannabis shops across Multnomah County, the state’s most populous area, made the lowest monthly profit they have since early 2019—hitting just $27,000 on average.

The price of cannabis flower is the lowest it’s been since April 2019. The county’s average gram sells for just $4.29 a gram—quite a bit lower than you’d find in most other states. Some have blamed the drop in value on Oregon’s oversupply problem, while others say the state’s oversupply problem wasn’t quite so bad as reported.

Portland residents bought $21 million worth of flower in July 2020, in the middle of the pandemic—and it was the most cannabis ever purchased in the state in a single month.

In general, cannabis sales increased at a steady pace since they began in 2016, but they skyrocketed in 2020, partly due to working from home and stimulus checks. In the span of only five months, cannabis sales in the county  increased by 79%. On average, cannabis shops raked in $48,000 per month in Multnomah County during the month of July 2020. But sales plunged shortly after, marking the lowest number recorded since June 2019.

Willamette Week profiled business owners in Portland who confirmed the stagnant sales.

Bret Born is owner of Northeast Portland-based cannabis shop Ascend, and acknowledged the drop in demand. “No one’s selling anything, which means no one’s buying anything,” Born told Willamette Week. “Vendors and shops are saying that this isn’t a gangbuster summer. Leading into the fall and winter, we could really be looking at tough times.”

Director of Analytics and Research for the OLCC, TJ Sheehy, said that besides the years of 2020 and 2021, 2022, which he believes was an anomaly, the sales trend is actually on course with the consumption trends dating to 2019.

“We had a big pandemic bump, but that has proved ephemeral. Now we’re back to normal,” Sheehy says. “But because we had that COVID-19 bump, businesses were responding to that when making their planting decisions, so that exacerbated the higher-supply issue.”

In addition, it turns out that a lot of people who could work at home found they also had more time to smoke weed, and many of the jobs are returning back to jobs at the office, so it’s not feasible anymore.

Beau Whitney, of research firm Whitney Economics, said that many Oregonians are suddenly finding they can no longer “work from stoned.”

“We’re pretty far away from stimulus payments with COVID-19, and inflation has crept up. I feel like, for a lot of people, cannabis dollars are discretionary dollars,” said Mason Walker, co-owner and CEO of East Fork Cultivars in Takilma. “People are tightening their belts a little bit.”

“I think everyone in the industry is feeling the slump right now and trying to figure out if it’s a temporary or permanent thing,” Walker said.

Equity efforts in the area remain strong. In May 2020, Dasheeda Dawson was named cannabis program supervisor for Portland, Oregon’s Office of Community and Civic Life. And even amid the pandemic, Dawson oversaw a social equity program and encountered newer challenges.

Despite the temporary drop in sales, slow and steady growth can be seen in the big picture of the viability of Portland’s cannabis market.

The post Portland Weed Demand Hits Three-Year Low appeared first on High Times.

Arizona Adult-Use Weed Sales Top a Record $72 Million

May 17, 2022 Published by

Sales of adult-use cannabis in Arizona hit a record $72 million in March, while purchases of medical cannabis dropped for the fifth month in a row. Regulated sales of recreational pot began in Arizona in January 2021, less than three months after the state’s voters approved a cannabis legalization measure in the November 2020 general election.

The Arizona Department of Revenue this week reported sales and tax revenue figures for March 2022 in the agency’s updated monthly report. The department also revised the reported sales for February 2022, increasing the total by several million dollars.

Sales of recreational pot in Arizona amounted to $72.3 million in March, increasing by more than $2 million over the previous month. Sales of adult-use cannabis were also up more than $2 million in February, following a slight dip in sales in January compared to the month before.

Sales of medical pot dropped to $49.4 in March, marking the first time sales of medicinal cannabis fell below $50 million since sales of recreational pot began last year. Medical sales hit their highest total of nearly $73 million in March 2021, dropping to more than $60 million per month over the next six months. Since October, sales of medicinal cannabis have dropped by more than $1.5 million every month as sales of recreational pot increased. Combined medical and adult-use cannabis sales came to $121.8 million in March.

The Department of Revenue also raised its reported figures for regulated cannabis sales for February. Sales of medical pot were increased for the month by $1.2 million to $53.7 million, while reported adult-use cannabis purchases were adjusted upward by $2.3 million, bringing the new monthly total to almost $71 million. The figure for total cannabis sales for February was revised up to $123.8 million.

Pot Sales Bring Tax Revenue to State Coffers

Cannabis taxes collected were also reported by the department. Arizona levies an excise tax of 16% on recreational pot and customers also pay the state sales tax rate of 5.5%. Medical weed patients pay the sales tax but not the excise tax. City and county sales taxes are also assessed on cannabis purchases.

In March, weed taxes collected totaled $21.3 million, including $4.1 million from sales of medicinal cannabis. Sales tax collected on recreational pot purchases came to $5.6 million, while the excise tax on adult-use cannabis generated $11.6 million in revenue.

“The legalization of cannabis in Arizona has been a boon for our economy and the state tax coffers,” Arizona Dispensary Association executive director Sam Richard said in a statement quoted by the Arizona Mirror. “The financial benefits are important, but the social impact cannot be understated, as citizens no longer have to live in fear of having their lives disrupted by low level marijuana arrests and convictions.”

Last month, a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that Arizona and five other states raised more tax revenue from cannabis taxes than they did from taxes on alcohol. Together, the 11 states that have legalized sales of adult-use cannabis received about $3 billion in excise taxes on cannabis, while alcohol sales generated around $2.5 billion in tax revenue.

In 2021, Arizona raised $105 million from cannabis taxes, compared to $92 million in alcohol taxes. California received about $832 million in cannabis taxes, approximately twice the revenue generated by alcohol taxes. In Colorado, cannabis taxes totaling $396 million eclipsed alcohol taxes by a magnitude of eight times.

“This is still a small part of state budgets, but it’s a very quickly growing area. There aren’t many revenue sources that grow year over year. This has been a several-year trend now,” Carl Davis, one of the authors of the ITEP study, said in a statement quoted by The Hill. “The early states, what you see is revenue start low and grow very, very quickly.”

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New Mexico Recreational Pot Sales Surpass $3 Million in Opening Weekend

April 4, 2022 Published by

Three days and millions of dollars later, the New Mexico adult-use cannabis industry is off to a roaring start.

Local television station KOAT reports that, as of noon on Sunday, recreational pot sales in the state had eclipsed $3 million.

The station, citing state officials, said that 49,552 transactions for recreational cannabis transactions had been recorded at that time, which totaled $3,092,712.

Sales officially kicked off after midnight on Friday, when hundreds of eager customers lined up outside the dispensaries in anticipation of the historic opening.

New Mexico is the 18th state to legalize recreational pot use for adults after its Democratic governor,  Michelle Lujan Grisham, signed a bill into law last spring.

“The legalization of adult-use cannabis paves the way for the creation of a new economic driver in our state with the promise of creating thousands of good paying jobs for years to come,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement at the time. “We are going to increase consumer safety by creating a bona fide industry. We’re going to start righting past wrongs of this country’s failed War on Drugs. And we’re going to break new ground in an industry that may well transform New Mexico’s economic future for the better.”

From the start, Grisham has hailed legalization as a force for economic prosperity in the state. After signing the legislation into law last year, her office said that “sales of adult-use recreational cannabis could amount to $318 million in the first year, creating over several years what could be more than 11,000 new jobs.” Her office added “that the excise tax will raise at least $20 million for the general fund in the first full fiscal year, with significant growth in subsequent years.”

“As we look to rebound from the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, entrepreneurs will benefit from this great opportunity to create lucrative new enterprises, the state and local governments will benefit from the added revenue and, importantly, workers will benefit from the chance to land new types of jobs and build careers,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement after the bill signing.

“This legislation is a major, major step forward for our state,” the governor added. “Legalized adult-use cannabis is going to change the way we think about New Mexico for the better — our workforce, our economy, our future. We’re ready to break new ground. We’re ready to invest in ourselves and the limitless potential of New Mexicans. And we’re ready to get to work in making this industry a successful one.”

As recreational pot sales launched throughout the state on Friday, Lujan Grisham visited a dispensary in Albuquerque.

Local television station KRQE reported that the governor “didn’t buy anything herself,” but did spend about a half-hour at the store conversing with customers and employees.

“I’m excited, this is what New Mexicans said they wanted,” Lujan Grisham said, as quoted by the station. “They said they wanted it long before was I running.”

While she didn’t procure any bud to take back to the governor’s mansion, Lujan Grisham didn’t rule out a purchase in the future.

“I don’t have to decide today, because it’s not going to end today. It’s going to stay forever,” she said, according to KRQE.

According to local television station KOAT, more than $4.5 million in total cannabis sales had been reported in New Mexico last weekend, including medicinal cannabis.

On Friday, there was $1.96 million in recreational cannabis sold in New Mexico, according to the station.

“By noon Friday, recreational sales had reached $476,000. About 70 percent of all cannabis sales Friday were for recreational use,” the station reported.

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