Colorado Politics

Marijuana producer challenges New Mexico limits on plants

The New Mexico Department of Health is being sued by a medical marijuana producer and a mother who uses oil derived from cannabis to control her infant daughter’s seizures.

The lawsuit filed this week in state district court challenges the state’s limit on the number of plants a licensed producer may grow.

The limit of 450 plants is keeping some patients from getting what they need, according to the lawsuit, which was filed by New Mexico Top Organics-Ultra Health Inc. and Bernalillo County resident Nicole Sena.

“State programs need rules to operate fairly, and the rules should not be arbitrary,” Ultra Health CEO and president Duke Rodriguez said in a statement. “Regulations should be consistent with statute, reflect the reality of patient specific needs, program growth and be supported by a credible assessment of supply and demand.”

Patients enrolled in New Mexico’s program have increased rapidly from about 14,000 in 2015 to more than 26,000 as of this summer.

With an increase in demand and complaints about supply, the state last year raised the plant limit from 150 to 450, new producers have been licensed and the amount patients can have was increased.

Health Department spokesman David Morgan told the Albuquerque Journal that as the newproducers get established, “there will be more medicine for patients.”

The plaintiffs said the state’s 35 producers are licensed to grow an industry total of 13,800 plants, resulting in a ratio of one-half plant for each patient. In neighboring Colorado, where pot was legalized for recreational use and sales, that ratio stands at six plants per medical marijuana patient.

According to the lawsuit, Sena says her daughter’s seizures have stopped thanks to the use of oil from a strain of cannabis called Haleigh’s Hope. The specialized product takes a greater volume of raw plant material to make, and Sena often has to leave the state to find a reliable supply.

Ultra Health says it has been forced to buy marijuana and marijuana products from other producers to meet demand. The lawsuit contends that’s much more expensive than growing the plants itself and it drives up the cost.

 
Brennan Linsley

PREV

PREVIOUS

Mormon church opposes plan for futuristic, green communities

The utopic communities envisioned by a wealthy Mormon businessman near religious landmarks in Utah and Vermont would feature small homes clustered around community gardens and focus on walkability to reduce the need for cars. David Hall’s effort to build sustainable communities is years away from reality but took a hit this week when the Mormon church denounced […]

NEXT

NEXT UP

Wyoming prepares for 2017 total solar eclipse tourism rush 

Officials in Wyoming’s Teton County are already setting up management plans to prepare for a crush of 40,000 tourists, including people camping illegally, who are expected to swarm Jackson Hole next summer to see a total solar eclipse. Jackson Hole lies in the path of the first total solar eclipse that will be viewable from the mainland […]


Welcome Back.

Streak: 9 days i

Stories you've missed since your last login:

Stories you've saved for later:

Recommended stories based on your interests:

Edit my interests