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Thirty, bushy marijuana plants neatly line a clean, mid-sized room in a building somewhere in Truth or Consequences. A pungent, distinctive scent fills the air.
It's here that buds will be carefully harvested from the 5-foot-tall bushes at the end of a three- to four-month growing cycle. They'll be trimmed, dried, packaged and shipped to fill pending orders.
The facility, one of 23 state-authorized medical cannabis producers in New Mexico, is moving to expand its presence into Las Cruces. The idea, however, has upset the only Doña Ana County-based grower-dispensary, which says the move would leave it at a disadvantage.
The nonprofit medical marijuana grower and distributor, MJ Express-O, is in discussion with state officials about opening a new dispensary in Las Cruces, about 75 miles south of T or C. The group has already begun searching for building space. Like other operations, only state-OK'd medical marijuana patients would be able to buy marijuana at the proposed new storefront.
Because patients can buy their marijuana supply from any of the state's producers with which they register, MJ Express-O already has been selling to some Doña Ana County patients, said Executive Director Gene Lester. The organization already has been making once-a-week deliveries to patients in Las Cruces, he said.
But Lester said demand from Doña Ana County patients has been on the uptick.
"We're getting a lot more requests from down there," he said.
'No lack of supply'
Vivian Moore, board member with the Las Cruces producer, which requested not to be named because of security concerns, contended there's no need for the expansion. In the most-recent six-month interval reported by the state, there was an increase of only 17 patients in Doña Ana County, she said.
"We're not under-served," she said of the county. "There's no lack of availability. There's no lack of supply."
Moore acknowledged that the Las Cruces facility has had trouble in the past creating enough supply as the operation was trying to get off the ground, but "we've not had a shortage for the past year." The organization launched in July 2010.
The state health department did not respond to requests for an interview.
The state's 9,090 active patients in the medical cannabis program have two state-OK'd options for obtaining their marijuana: buying from one of the 23 licensed producers or growing their own limited number of plants, producers said.
But there's also a third, illegal option: buying it off the streets. Though not allowed, it's likely some patients do, producers said.
In Do̱a Ana County, there are 550 active patients in the program Рthe fourth-highest among counties, according to April numbers from the state health department.
Moore said estimates are that between 35 and 50 percent of patients grow their own marijuana. And she said her organization is capable of supplying the rest of Doña Ana County.
"The patient numbers do not support having another location," she said.
Moore said Las Cruces' location next to the international border puts her organization's efforts at a disadvantage in terms of how many potential customers it can reach. That's because each of the highways out of Las Cruces has a Border Patrol checkpoint. And medical marijuana possession – though authorized by the state government – is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government.
So, Moore said, each of the 22 other producers can sell their product in Doña Ana County, if they deliver it directly to patients. They don't have to pass through a federal checkpoint when driving to Las Cruces. But her organization isn't able to sell outside the county, she said.
The proposed new dispensary is contrary to what Moore's organization was told in the past from the state, she said.
"We were assured there would not be another storefront in Doña Ana County," she said.
Rocky start
MJ Express-O is in its third year of operations, officials with the organization said. They said they had a steep learning curve in getting the nonprofit business underway. But Lester said the operation is now producing a high-quality crop.
"We started at dead zero. We really didn't know what we were doing," Lester said.
For starters, medical marijuana growers-dispensers said they have a list of state regulations to follow. Because they're nonprofits, they must set up governing boards. They pay a $30,000 per-year licensing fee, sales tax on the marijuana sales and federal income tax, since the federal government doesn't recognize the nonprofit status, producers said.
MJ Express-O took out loans to buy land and construct its growing facility, and its still repaying them, Lester said.
Cannabis producers said the farming side of the operation adds intricacy.
Growers said the indoor environment must be carefully regulated to produce a crop of flowers, commonly called buds – the sought-after, THC chemical-containing part of the plant that's eventually smoked, vaporized or ingested. And they're restricted to having 150 plants – ranging from seedlings to mature specimens – at any one time, meaning they have to get the timing right to continually produce a crop.
MJ Express-O's facility, kept behind locked doors, features three rooms with plants in various stages. Lights to simulate sunlight are set on timers. Several fans circulate air. Other than the crop, it might appear to be like any other small horticulture operation.
"The goal is to maintain a constant humidity and a constant temperature," said Jonathan Beaty, facility manager and board member for MJ Express-O. "We're also pumping CO2 into the air."
In addition, MJ Express-O is trying to breed better strains of plants and learn which varieties are the best for which medical conditions, officials with the organization said.
Historically, Lester said, the crop has been bred to get the highest THC content. But it turns out that most medical patients don't find that to be ideal, he said.
So there's a reversal going on.
"What our folks are doing is trying to breed it back – where you don't get the high, but you get the medicinal properties."
The Las Cruces producer grows its cannabis organically, meaning it's "pesticide- and chemical-free," said Moore.
"There's only organic fertilizer," she said. "There's no insecticides. We use teas made out of kelp and molasses. We use rosemary oil as an insecticide."
Like with organically grown vegetables and fruits, it does add to the cost, Moore said. There are also personnel costs associated with harvesting, processing and selling the cannabis.
On the hunt
Lester said he's searching for potential locations in Las Cruces to open a storefront for patients. It's been tough so far, because landlords have been skeptical about the idea, he said. Some are worried about upsetting other tenants. Others are concerned about potentially crossing the federal government, he said.
MJ Express-O has plans to create a secure facility with teller windows to keep employees separated from clients, he said. Any cannabis left overnight would be kept locked up in a vault.
Lester said the location will be kept confidential.
"The only people who will ever know where it is are our registered patients," he said.
Despite her concerns, Moore seemed to look at a silver lining, saying the heightened attention could benefit the existing Las Cruces producer.
"Maybe it will increase our business, rather than detract from it," she said.
Diana Alba Soular can be reached at (575) 541-5443; follow her on Twitter @AlbaSoular
New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program
Number of active participants by county: Bernalillo 3,423, Catron 12, Chaves 156, Cibola 86 Colfax 54, Curry 109, De Baca 10, Doña Ana 550, Eddy 123, Grant 88, Guadalupe 4, Harding 2, Hidalgo 8, Lea 53, Lincoln 153, Los Alamos 49, Luna 49, McKinley 91, Mora 64, Otero 158, Quay 29, Rio Arriba 222, Roosevelt 27, San Juan 394, San Miguel 271, Sandoval 708, Santa Fe 1,267, Sierra 158, Socorro 85, Taos 197, Torrance 120, Union 13, Valencia 347. Total 9,090
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: lcsun-news.com
Author: Diana Alba
Contact: Las Cruces Contact Us - Las Cruces Sun-News
Website: T or C medical marijuana grower looks to expand into Las Cruces - Las Cruces Sun-News
It's here that buds will be carefully harvested from the 5-foot-tall bushes at the end of a three- to four-month growing cycle. They'll be trimmed, dried, packaged and shipped to fill pending orders.
The facility, one of 23 state-authorized medical cannabis producers in New Mexico, is moving to expand its presence into Las Cruces. The idea, however, has upset the only Doña Ana County-based grower-dispensary, which says the move would leave it at a disadvantage.
The nonprofit medical marijuana grower and distributor, MJ Express-O, is in discussion with state officials about opening a new dispensary in Las Cruces, about 75 miles south of T or C. The group has already begun searching for building space. Like other operations, only state-OK'd medical marijuana patients would be able to buy marijuana at the proposed new storefront.
Because patients can buy their marijuana supply from any of the state's producers with which they register, MJ Express-O already has been selling to some Doña Ana County patients, said Executive Director Gene Lester. The organization already has been making once-a-week deliveries to patients in Las Cruces, he said.
But Lester said demand from Doña Ana County patients has been on the uptick.
"We're getting a lot more requests from down there," he said.
'No lack of supply'
Vivian Moore, board member with the Las Cruces producer, which requested not to be named because of security concerns, contended there's no need for the expansion. In the most-recent six-month interval reported by the state, there was an increase of only 17 patients in Doña Ana County, she said.
"We're not under-served," she said of the county. "There's no lack of availability. There's no lack of supply."
Moore acknowledged that the Las Cruces facility has had trouble in the past creating enough supply as the operation was trying to get off the ground, but "we've not had a shortage for the past year." The organization launched in July 2010.
The state health department did not respond to requests for an interview.
The state's 9,090 active patients in the medical cannabis program have two state-OK'd options for obtaining their marijuana: buying from one of the 23 licensed producers or growing their own limited number of plants, producers said.
But there's also a third, illegal option: buying it off the streets. Though not allowed, it's likely some patients do, producers said.
In Do̱a Ana County, there are 550 active patients in the program Рthe fourth-highest among counties, according to April numbers from the state health department.
Moore said estimates are that between 35 and 50 percent of patients grow their own marijuana. And she said her organization is capable of supplying the rest of Doña Ana County.
"The patient numbers do not support having another location," she said.
Moore said Las Cruces' location next to the international border puts her organization's efforts at a disadvantage in terms of how many potential customers it can reach. That's because each of the highways out of Las Cruces has a Border Patrol checkpoint. And medical marijuana possession – though authorized by the state government – is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government.
So, Moore said, each of the 22 other producers can sell their product in Doña Ana County, if they deliver it directly to patients. They don't have to pass through a federal checkpoint when driving to Las Cruces. But her organization isn't able to sell outside the county, she said.
The proposed new dispensary is contrary to what Moore's organization was told in the past from the state, she said.
"We were assured there would not be another storefront in Doña Ana County," she said.
Rocky start
MJ Express-O is in its third year of operations, officials with the organization said. They said they had a steep learning curve in getting the nonprofit business underway. But Lester said the operation is now producing a high-quality crop.
"We started at dead zero. We really didn't know what we were doing," Lester said.
For starters, medical marijuana growers-dispensers said they have a list of state regulations to follow. Because they're nonprofits, they must set up governing boards. They pay a $30,000 per-year licensing fee, sales tax on the marijuana sales and federal income tax, since the federal government doesn't recognize the nonprofit status, producers said.
MJ Express-O took out loans to buy land and construct its growing facility, and its still repaying them, Lester said.
Cannabis producers said the farming side of the operation adds intricacy.
Growers said the indoor environment must be carefully regulated to produce a crop of flowers, commonly called buds – the sought-after, THC chemical-containing part of the plant that's eventually smoked, vaporized or ingested. And they're restricted to having 150 plants – ranging from seedlings to mature specimens – at any one time, meaning they have to get the timing right to continually produce a crop.
MJ Express-O's facility, kept behind locked doors, features three rooms with plants in various stages. Lights to simulate sunlight are set on timers. Several fans circulate air. Other than the crop, it might appear to be like any other small horticulture operation.
"The goal is to maintain a constant humidity and a constant temperature," said Jonathan Beaty, facility manager and board member for MJ Express-O. "We're also pumping CO2 into the air."
In addition, MJ Express-O is trying to breed better strains of plants and learn which varieties are the best for which medical conditions, officials with the organization said.
Historically, Lester said, the crop has been bred to get the highest THC content. But it turns out that most medical patients don't find that to be ideal, he said.
So there's a reversal going on.
"What our folks are doing is trying to breed it back – where you don't get the high, but you get the medicinal properties."
The Las Cruces producer grows its cannabis organically, meaning it's "pesticide- and chemical-free," said Moore.
"There's only organic fertilizer," she said. "There's no insecticides. We use teas made out of kelp and molasses. We use rosemary oil as an insecticide."
Like with organically grown vegetables and fruits, it does add to the cost, Moore said. There are also personnel costs associated with harvesting, processing and selling the cannabis.
On the hunt
Lester said he's searching for potential locations in Las Cruces to open a storefront for patients. It's been tough so far, because landlords have been skeptical about the idea, he said. Some are worried about upsetting other tenants. Others are concerned about potentially crossing the federal government, he said.
MJ Express-O has plans to create a secure facility with teller windows to keep employees separated from clients, he said. Any cannabis left overnight would be kept locked up in a vault.
Lester said the location will be kept confidential.
"The only people who will ever know where it is are our registered patients," he said.
Despite her concerns, Moore seemed to look at a silver lining, saying the heightened attention could benefit the existing Las Cruces producer.
"Maybe it will increase our business, rather than detract from it," she said.
Diana Alba Soular can be reached at (575) 541-5443; follow her on Twitter @AlbaSoular
New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program
Number of active participants by county: Bernalillo 3,423, Catron 12, Chaves 156, Cibola 86 Colfax 54, Curry 109, De Baca 10, Doña Ana 550, Eddy 123, Grant 88, Guadalupe 4, Harding 2, Hidalgo 8, Lea 53, Lincoln 153, Los Alamos 49, Luna 49, McKinley 91, Mora 64, Otero 158, Quay 29, Rio Arriba 222, Roosevelt 27, San Juan 394, San Miguel 271, Sandoval 708, Santa Fe 1,267, Sierra 158, Socorro 85, Taos 197, Torrance 120, Union 13, Valencia 347. Total 9,090
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: lcsun-news.com
Author: Diana Alba
Contact: Las Cruces Contact Us - Las Cruces Sun-News
Website: T or C medical marijuana grower looks to expand into Las Cruces - Las Cruces Sun-News
