News » New Mexico Increases Fees To Pay For Medical Marijuana Program, Increases Limits As Well

December 18, 2010 by justin

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Recent changes to the medical marijuana rules in New Mexico will increase the number of plants that licensed growers are allowed to have, but will substantially increase the fees that they pay to the state as well. Deborah Busemeyer, a spokesperson from the New Mexico Department of Health, said that the program currently costs the state $700,000 per year and that the fee increases will cover that amount.

Growers operating for less than a year will pay $5,000 to be licensed, those in operation for one to three years will pay $10,000, and anyone in business more than three years will pay $20,000. The health department estimates that producers are grossing approximately $400,000 per year based on the current limit of 95 plants, and therefore the license fees won’t be a huge burden on the growers. The new rules will also increase the number of plants allowed to 150, further increasing their earning potential, although the number of licensed growers will increase to 25 as well. The application fee will increase from $100 to $1000.

There are 3,000 patients enrolled in New Mexico’s medical marijuana program, and of those 1,400 have licenses to grow marijuana for their personal use. They will not be affected by the change – only growers selling to dispensaries will require the new licensing fees. Health Secretary Alfredo Vigil said that the change in rules was in response to public comments that the supply of medical marijuana was not great enough, and that the new plan would increase the supply while reducing the cost to the state.

“Under the current legislation, I think we’ve accomplished what we set out to accomplish, ” he said, but then added, “The public can expect policy surrounding the use of marijuana to continue to evolve.”

[source Santa Fe New Mexican]

Tags: Alfredo Vigil, Deborah Busemeyer, Department of Health, grower, marijuana, medical, medical marijuana, New Mexico