The New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department and its Cannabis Control Division announced on Tuesday that it would start accepting applications for all cannabis businesses. The department and its cannabis division has already been accepting applications for cultivation licenses, but in the announcement on Tuesday, the department said it is accepting all business applications as a way to “streamline the licensing process.”
“The Cannabis Control Division’s licensing system is open for business,” Regulation and Licensing Superintendent Linda Trujillo said in a statement. She added that the department is expanding its “user-friendly online platform” in order to get ahead of the process of licensing businesses.
While the department will start accepting applications for manufacturing, retail and testing licenses, rules and regulations for those license types have not been finalized, so those licenses will not be issued until rules are promulgated.
Cannabis Control Division Director Kristen Thomson, in a statement, said the division decided to move forward with accepting applications after hearing concerns about hitting the ground running.
“After hearing stakeholders’ enthusiasm for standing up this industry as soon as possible, we are instituting this new licensing process to help businesses, entrepreneurs and communities maximize the economic opportunities this new industry is creating,” Thomson said.
RLD and CCD have already issued at least one cultivation license and by law, recreational-use cannabis sales have to begin no later than April 1, 2022.
