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New Mexico Cannabis Jobs Pay More Than Accommodation, Food Service

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Data collected by a New Mexico agency examined wage comparison for cannabis and non-cannabis jobs.

A recent report published by the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions shows that individuals—specifically ex-accommodation and food service employees—who recently took up jobs in the cannabis industry were paid more than they were in previous job roles.

The report stated that as of the fourth quarter of 2022, there were 151 cannabis dispensaries in New Mexico and 112 were operating as a recreational dispensary or online platform. There were also a recorded 21 cannabis businesses licensed to cultivate, 10 processors, four wholesale trade, and four categorized as “all other sectors.”

With that data in mind, the state employed 4,666 workers within that time frame, with 4,122 working in firms and 171 in cultivation. The cannabis firms were most commonly found in Bernalillo County, followed by Doña Ana County, Santa Fe County, and San Juan County.

New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions broke down cannabis employment data in comparison to non-cannabis jobs. The agency wrote that 39.3% of New Mexico jobs during Q4 2022 were cannabis related, whereas 35.5% of the state’s job force was working in other industries. This includes trade, transportation, and utilities (11.1%), leisure and hospitality (8.4%), education and health services (4.4%), professional and business services (4.2%), and numerous other categories that fall at two percent or less.

One line graph compared the cannabis and non-cannabis wage records. “One reason why members of this cohort may have left their previous place of employment to work in the cannabis industry is to earn higher wages,” the report stated. “Analyzing their wage records shows that their average weekly wage increased once they joined the cannabis industry.”

In Q4 2022, the average cannabis worker was receiving $560 per week in wages. “We then compared this average weekly wage to the wages of all workers working for privately-owned firms in the fourth quarter 2022,” the authors continued. “All industry sectors had an average weekly wage higher than $560 except for accommodation and food service. That industry had an average weekly wage of $474, a difference of $86. The data shows that for some people, the grass is greener in the cannabis industry.”

As of April 2023, New Mexico’s recreational cannabis industry collected more than $300 million. Recreational cannabis sales went into effect in April 2022, and within that year, regulators issued an estimated 2,000 cannabis licenses across the state (633 retail licenses, 351 producers, 415 micro producers, and 507 manufacturers). “In just one year, hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity has been generated in communities across the state, the number of businesses continues to increase, and thousands of New Mexicans are employed by this new industry,” said New Mexico Gov. Lujan Grisham in April. “I’m excited to see what the future holds as we continue to develop an innovative and safe adult-use cannabis industry.”

In April, the cannabis job data company Vangst released an annual report about the growth and decline of jobs in specific cannabis markets. The top states for cannabis job growth included New Mexico among others such as Missouri, Michigan, New Jersey, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Massachusetts, Maine, and Illinois. In 2022, it showed that New Mexico gained 2,532 cannabis jobs, which is a 63% gain compared to the previous year. As of February 2023, total cannabis jobs sat at 6,565.

While Vangst data showed that because more states like New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Montana have legal medical and/or recreational industries, states like Colorado have begun to see a decline in jobs. Overall, the states that lost the most cannabis jobs included California (12,600 jobs lost), Colorado (10,481), Oklahoma (7,224), Oregon (4,278), Nevada (3,276), and Arizona (1,737).

Source: https://hightimes.com/news/new-mexico-cannabis-jobs-pay-more-than-accommodation-food-service/

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New Mexico cannabis operator fined, loses license for alleged BioTrack fraud

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New Mexico regulators fined a cannabis operator nearly $300,000 and revoked its license after the company allegedly created fake reports in the state’s traceability software.

The New Mexico Cannabis Control Division (CCD) accused marijuana manufacturer and retailer Golden Roots of 11 violations, according to Albuquerque Business First.

Golden Roots operates the The Cannabis Revolution Dispensary.

The majority of the violations are related to the Albuquerque company’s improper use of BioTrack, which has been New Mexico’s track-and-trace vendor since 2015.

The CCD alleges Golden Roots reported marijuana production only two months after it had received its vertically integrated license, according to Albuquerque Business First.

Because cannabis takes longer than two months to be cultivated, the CCD was suspicious of the report.

After inspecting the company’s premises, the CCD alleged Golden Roots reported cultivation, transportation and sales in BioTrack but wasn’t able to provide officers who inspected the site evidence that the operator was cultivating cannabis.

In April, the CCD revoked Golden Roots’ license and issued a $10,000 fine, according to the news outlet.

The company requested a hearing, which the regulator scheduled for Sept. 1.

At the hearing, the CCD testified that the company’s dried-cannabis weights in BioTrack were suspicious because they didn’t seem to accurately reflect how much weight marijuana loses as it dries.

Company employees also poorly accounted for why they were making adjustments in the system of up to 24 pounds of cannabis, making comments such as “bad” or “mistake” in the software, Albuquerque Business First reported.

Golden Roots was fined $298,972.05 – the amount regulators allege the company made selling products that weren’t properly accounted for in BioTrack.

The CCD has been cracking down on cannabis operators accused of selling products procured from out-of-state or not grown legally:

Golden Roots was the first alleged rulebreaker in New Mexico to be asked to pay a large fine.

Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/new-mexico-cannabis-operator-fined-loses-license-for-alleged-biotrack-fraud/

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Marijuana companies suing US attorney general in federal prohibition challenge

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Four marijuana companies, including a multistate operator, have filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in which they allege the federal MJ prohibition under the Controlled Substances Act is no longer constitutional.

According to the complaint, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, retailer Canna Provisions, Treevit delivery service CEO Gyasi Sellers, cultivator Wiseacre Farm and MSO Verano Holdings Corp. are all harmed by “the federal government’s unconstitutional ban on cultivating, manufacturing, distributing, or possessing intrastate marijuana.”

Verano is headquartered in Chicago but has operations in Massachusetts; the other three operators are based in Massachusetts.

The lawsuit seeks a ruling that the “Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as applied to the intrastate cultivation, manufacture, possession, and distribution of marijuana pursuant to state law.”

The companies want the case to go before the U.S. Supreme Court.

They hired prominent law firm Boies Schiller Flexner to represent them.

The New York-based firm’s principal is David Boies, whose former clients include Microsoft, former presidential candidate Al Gore and Elizabeth Holmes’ disgraced startup Theranos.

Similar challenges to the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) have failed.

One such challenge led to a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2005.

In Gonzalez vs. Raich, the highest court in the United States ruled in a 6-3 decision that the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the power to outlaw marijuana federally, even though state laws allow the cultivation and sale of cannabis.

In the 18 years since that ruling, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized adult-use marijuana and the federal government has allowed a multibillion-dollar cannabis industry to thrive.

Since both Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice, currently headed by Garland, have declined to intervene in state-licensed marijuana markets, the key facts that led to the Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling “no longer apply,” Boies said in a statement Thursday.

“The Supreme Court has since made clear that the federal government lacks the authority to regulate purely intrastate commerce,” Boies said.

“Moreover, the facts on which those precedents are based are no longer true.”

Verano President Darren Weiss said in a statement the company is “prepared to bring this case all the way to the Supreme Court in order to align federal law with how Congress has acted for years.”

While the Biden administration’s push to reschedule marijuana would help solve marijuana operators’ federal tax woes, neither rescheduling nor modest Congressional reforms such as the SAFER Banking Act “solve the fundamental issue,” Weiss added.

“The application of the CSA to lawful state-run cannabis business is an unconstitutional overreach on state sovereignty that has led to decades of harm, failed businesses, lost jobs, and unsafe working conditions.”

Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-companies-suing-us-attorney-general-to-overturn-federal-prohibition/

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Alabama to make another attempt Dec. 1 to award medical cannabis licenses

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Alabama regulators are targeting Dec. 1 to award the first batch of medical cannabis business licenses after the agency’s first two attempts were scrapped because of scoring errors and litigation.

The first licenses will be awarded to individual cultivators, delivery providers, processors, dispensaries and state testing labs, according to the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC).

Then, on Dec. 12, the AMCC will award licenses for vertically integrated operations, a designation set primarily for multistate operators.

Licenses are expected to be handed out 28 days after they have been awarded, so MMJ production could begin in early January, according to the Alabama Daily News.

That means MMJ products could be available for patients around early March, an AMCC spokesperson told the media outlet.

Regulators initially awarded 21 business licenses in June, only to void them after applicants alleged inconsistencies with how the applications were scored.

Then, in August, the state awarded 24 different licenses – 19 went to June recipients – only to reverse themselves again and scratch those licenses after spurned applicants filed lawsuits.

A state judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Chicago-based MSO Verano Holdings Corp., but another lawsuit is pending.

Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/alabama-plans-to-award-medical-cannabis-licenses-dec-1/

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