Other Voices: Marijuana Magnate Duke Rodriguez Is Not High On New Mexico's Legal Market; "The Black Market Is Alive And Well," Plus: Sen. Bill Tallman Retires: Endorses Rep. Figueroa To Take His Seat

Duke Rodriguez

He's been credited as the state's single most powerful voice for marijuana legalization that occurred in 2021. Now in 2023 Duke Rodriguez, CEO and President of Ultra Health, one of the the state's largest sellers of marijuana with 38 dispensaries, is not high on what's happening.  In today's edition of Other Voices Rodriguez explains why:

In an August 22nd blog post here, state Senator Joseph Cervantes and others discussed ‘how’ and ‘why’ New Mexico’s cannabis market went off the rails. It boils down to, “the black market is alive and well.” 

The questions now should be: why would anyone in their right minds buy marijuana illicitly or grow it illegally, especially when licenses are being given so freely, without inspections or oversight?  Realistically, it is likely harder to travel in and out of this week’s Balloon Fiesta than to obtain a license to enter NM’s cannabis market. 

When the Legislature passed the Cannabis Regulation Act, it emphasized the importance of “ensuring a regulated environment for commercial cannabis activity that does not impose unreasonable barriers that would perpetuate, rather than reduce and eliminate, the illicit market for cannabis.” NMSA 1978, Section 26-2C-3(G) (2021). The result has been the complete opposite. 

From excessive taxation, over regulation, lack of enforcement and simply from the high turnover in the Cannabis Control Division (CCD) – the incentives are too great to stay out of the regulated market and instead thrive in the illicit market. 

Going forward, CCD continues to instill a mindset of ‘beating’ the existing licensed operators into submission. Archaic plant counts, packaging rules, plant tagging, ads with wordy disclaimers, restrictions on ad placements, new education requirements. . . the list of operational barriers (red tape) goes on and on. 

And then to periodically hold up as an example of success, catching one single mom-and-pop licensee with a handful of California produced edibles or cartridges and declaring victory is inane. Is the juice worth the squeeze? 

All the while, there are unlicensed growers in NM with upwards of 250,000 plants--larger than any licensed grower in the state. Yes, bad actors in the licensed arena are a bad thing. But a much bigger problem is illicit operators. Their economic impact is larger than the entire regulated market and certainly makes the fatuity of a few bad apples highlighted on the evening news more apparent. 

The scale of impact from these illicit operators is so much larger with the scale of their operations. They have huge competitive advantages that are near impossible to overcome when we try to compete fairly and within the current framework. 

VERDICT IS CLEAR

After eighteen months of recreational sales, the verdict is clear. The regulatory environment for commercial cannabis activity has continued to impose barriers that perpetuate, rather than reduce and eliminate, the illicit market for cannabis. 

Judging by the numbers for recreational sales, recreational purchasers are also hitting the illicit market. The sales released by CCD may sound impressive, but if you do the math—the adult population plus the Texas border times reliable consumption data—you realize the revenue should be much bigger. Unfortunately, the illicit market siphons off a large proportion of sales from the legal market. 

The state should stop focusing on the color and size of the font on packaging and do the things that will have leap-frog gains against the illicit market: no cannabis excise tax, no NMGRT, no plant count, no excessive fees, no burdensome regulations, etc. 

We had a medical cannabis program that was saddled with over regulation and mismanagement by the NMDOH. Thankfully, through various court decisions we were able to overcome the failed and draconian oversight exercised by the NMDOH. Let’s not repeat the missteps of the past with the current handling of commercial cannabis activity in New Mexico. 

Shakespeare said, “what’s past is prologue.” But that’s all it is—a prologue to the full story. Legislators and regulators cannot let past medical cannabis mistakes write the entire book on cannabis in New Mexico. Simply put, let’s do what the Legislature passed into law: reduce and eliminate the illicit market for cannabis.

We appreciate that provocative contribution. 

Other Voices is a forum for insightful commentary on the issues of the day facing New Mexico. We welcome your voice or that of your organization. Just drop your column of up to 625 words to newsguy@yahoo.com--and we'll review it for publication.

TALLMAN RETIRES

Tallman and Figueroa

ABQ Dem State Senator Bill Tallman has announced he will retire after his second term which ends in 2025. As he exits the stage he says he would like to see his seat go to State Rep. Natalie Figueroa of NE Heights House District 30. 

Tallman says he would be 88 years old when his third term would end in 2029. He says of Figueroa:

It's time for new bold leadership to fight for the issues that are so important. . .She's smart; she is hard-working; she is personable and she listens. 

Figueroa is serving her third two year term. She is a 30 year APS teacher currently teaching Spanish. She wasted no time getting her key endorsement up on her website.

Figueroa won't get a free ride for the Dem nomination next June. Greg Seeley, 40, and already retired from the Air Force, has announced his candidacy.  

Although Seeley has political experience as a policy staffer with Sen. Ben Ray Lujan and others, Figueroa will start in the pole position with Tallman's endorsement and $88,000 in her campaign account. A Dem consultant said:

The race will not be handed to her. She will have to work but she is well-liked and now well-positioned for a seat in the Senate. 

District 18 has gotten more Dem under redistricting. No R's need apply. The  Dem primary will be the whole enchilada.

As for Tallman, he reflected on his tenure:

. . . I am proud that we passed legislation and budgets that improved our educational system, increased teacher pay, expanded access to affordable health-care, lowered prescription drug prices, expanded economic development, and combated climate change. . . I initiated a bill to provide a tax credit for the purchase of certain electric vehicles. I was the first state legislator to sponsor a bill to provide free tuition for most community college students. . .Some of my disappointments include not being appointed to the Finance Committee, not being able to move the needle on capital outlay reform and failing to obtain funding for a Downtown ABQ multi- purpose arena. 

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023