Cliff Pirtle has proposed using a share of marijuana excise tax dollars to help protect roadways from pot-impaired drivers, including research on drug-sobriety tests.ĭemocratic state Sen. Javier Martínez - lead architect of the state’s legalization effort - wants to create a “rural equity fund” to provide support and possibly subsidies to growers from marginalized communities. Lawmakers haven’t decided yet how to spend the money.ĭemocratic state Rep. One-third of revenues goes toward local government. That’s before standard taxes on sales of 5-9%.īy conservative estimates, state and local tax income from recreational cannabis will surpass $45 million annually within three years. The state will levy a 12% excise tax on the sale of marijuana that eventually increases to 18%. Those businesses might come to resemble small craft breweries. In the interest of equitable opportunity, the state will issue “micro-licenses” for a small fee for cultivation of up to 200 plants.

Past drug convictions won’t bar individuals from starting a licensed marijuana business, though it is a consideration. New expungement and pardon procedures don’t apply to convictions for trafficking large quantities of illicit marijuana.

Rough estimates show about 100 prison inmates might be pardoned. Those past offenses can no longer be used to bar a person from professional licenses or obtaining a job. Lawmakers set aside a half-million dollars for courts to begin the process. New Mexico will set up an automated system for reviewing and expunging criminal records for past marijuana activities that are now legal. Those decisions could drive up retail prices. He says state regulators have the authority to limit mass production and charge special licensing fees of up to $50 per plant annually.

That should change as new legislation waives retail taxes on medical marijuana.Ĭhad Lozano, a former advocate for medical patients and future commercial cannabis producer, says prices for recreational marijuana in New Mexico will be relatively high at first compared with other states and should decline as the market matures. Advocates for medical cannabis patients say current pot prices in New Mexico are among the highest in the country, straining personal finances for some consumers.

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