Legal cannabis sales are off to a strong start in New Mexico. With 1.96 million dollars of products sold, the state of the American Southwest can even boast of having ” beaten “ Colorado figures. Cannabis has been officially legal since Friday, April 1, and adults can shop at 250 stores.
During the first weekend of legalization (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), merchants recorded more than 87,000 transactions. Over these three days, sales of recreational cannabis exceeded $3.5 million. All these figures are proudly put forward by the governor of New Mexico. Michelle Grisham even went to a store on the first day of legalization.
“The start of recreational cannabis sales is one of the most successful, maybe even the most successful, of any US state.congratulates the elected Democrat in a press release. Plus, we beat Colorado’s first day sales numbers! It is clear that cannabis will be a contributor to our economy. »
The Cannabis Control Division is also pleased not to have experienced a shortage for the first days of opening of the dispensaries. “Customers and patients were able to buy the products they wanted or needed”assures his boss, Kristen Thomson.
300 million sales for the first year
In 2014, Colorado residents bought $1 million worth of cannabis on day one. That’s twice as much as New Mexico. But it’s not a record either. In 2020, Illinois hit hard, surpassing $3 million in a single day. Nuance: the state of Chicago has almost six times more inhabitants than New Mexico.
This state now hopes to sell $300 million for the first year of legalization. To reach these figures, he relies in particular on his Texan neighbors. Indeed, the 30 million inhabitants of this state have no access to medical or recreational cannabis.
For example, the small town of Sunland Park has 11,000 inhabitants but it received… 30 license applications to open a cannabis business. It is not a coincidence. The town is only ten kilometers from El Paso, one of the largest cities in Texas, with 2 million inhabitants, the size of Paris.
