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Some Southern NM cannabis producers face conundrum with testing facility locations
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Cannabis companies around the state are preparing their storefronts and bolstering their crops for the start of recreational-use cannabis sales, which will start on Friday. And while a majority of storefronts are expected to be in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe metro areas, some businesses in the southern part of the state might get held up in an important process of preparing cannabis for sales: testing.
State law requires that the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department develop testing standards for commercially sold cannabis. The department’s Cannabis Control Division developed rules and regulations that require all cannabis being sold go through a series of tests that look for things like fungus, pesticides and to verify the potency level.
But for cannabis growers in Las Cruces, it’s nearly impossible to transport cannabis products to a testing facility without the risk of federal agents seizing those products and, in some cases, any cash that is found. There are currently only two state-approved cannabis testing labs in New Mexico. One is in Albuquerque and the other is in Santa Fe.