The La Cruces Sun News reports
SANTA FE – The newest division of New Mexico’s Regulation and Licensing Department, the Cannabis Control Division, made its debut on the RLD website even though Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has not yet signed legislation legalizing and regulating it.
While the Cannabis Regulation Act is not yet law, awaiting the governor’s promised signature following its passage at last week’s special legislative session, the “feed bill” that funded the session included a $1.7 million appropriation to the RLD to begin implementation.
Once enacted into law, cannabis will be legal in New Mexico for possession and use by adults aged 21 and over beginning June 29.
By September, the division is required to process license applications for producers, with standards and documentation procedures in place. It will also assume oversight of licensing under the Lynn and Erin Compassion Use Act, the 2017 law that legalized and regulated medical cannabis in New Mexico. (The medical program’s patient registry is maintained by the state health department.)
By January, the CCD is charged with promulgating rules for production, marketing and sales of cannabis (commonly known as marijuana), in consultation with other agencies and a cannabis advisory committee.
By then, it also expects to issue permits to cannabis servers — costing up to $35 for three years — with commercial sales to begin no later than April 1 of next year.
More:What to know about New Mexico’s Cannabis Regulation Act
On Tuesday, the division’s web page featured definitions of terms and a schedule of fees for licenses permitting cannabis businesses, testing laboratories, servers, producers, and more.
