Dispensary owner shares frustrations of attempt to open shop in Nob Hill

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Cannabis and cash are now exchanging hands at Canvas Organics near Candelaria and San Pedro, but it wasn’t easy getting to this point. 

“We hit a couple snags along the way,” said Billy Giron, owner of Canvas Organics. 

Giron, born and raised in Albuquerque, said it has been a learning experience to enter the New Mexico cannabis industry. 

Back in March, Giron was working to get open for the start of legal sales on April 1. However, it didn’t happen until mid-April – which hurt their bottom line, coming out of the gate. 

While one of his stores is growing, his store in Nob Hill is now closed. 

“Originally, that was planned to be our very first dispensary,” Giron said. 

They were planning to sell cannabis out of their Nob Hill location, the CBD Boutique, until a hiccup back in March. 

A City of Albuquerque location rule does not allow two cannabis shops to operate within 600 feet of each other. Across Central from the potential Canvas Organics location, is a still-vacant shop that holds that coveted city location permit. 

Now, Giron is focused on growing his cliente at the other location in northeast Albuquerque, and he hopes to expand Canvas Organics in the future.