NMRLD to ask lawmakers for money to pay for new cannabis inspectors

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – We’re a little under two weeks away from the general election when New Mexicans will elect several new state lawmakers.

In just about three months, those new lawmakers will travel to Santa Fe for the legislative session. It’s too early to know exactly what bills will gain momentum in the Roundhouse, but some state agencies are already giving us a good idea what’s on their wish list.

KOB 4 learned the Cannabis Control Division has a few big ticket items on its list, including a new group of cannabis cops.

“You can’t foresee the future. If we could, we’d all be in a better shape, right?” said Clay Bailey, superintendent of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department. 

With more than $1.3 billion in sales and more than 3,000 individual licenses awarded. In just two and half years, New Mexico’s cannabis industry is growing like weeds, but any gardener will tell you some weeds are worse than others.

“I know some of the businesses are concerned about the illicit market coming in, taking away from the legalized business,” said Bailey. 

He says his team of cannabis compliance officers is stretched thin.

“We got 13, including the manager that goes out, does inspections. It’s a heck of a lift. It’s tough, and that’s one reason we’re asking for an additional 10 inspectors,” said Bailey. 

Bailey says he’s planning to ask state lawmakers for nearly $2 million to pay for those new inspectors, and the critical work they do every day.

“This is a product that people consume, some of it medical, some of it recreational. We need to be sure they’re doing it right, that they’re following the rules that, you know, there’s no pesticides, mold, bugs, all kinds of things that go along with this. But it’s a life safety issue, is why we do it,” said Bailey. 

Since January 2023, those compliance officers performed 3,200 inspections across the state, finding more than 9,000 violations and issuing 30 enforcement actions.

“There’s a lot of illicit grows. And the illicit grows, you know, they’re the ones that are having 10,20, 30, 40,000 plants or more. You know, they’ll put up 150 hoop houses overnight. They have no license, no business being in the business. They don’t care how they do it,” Bailey said. 

Right now, the Cannabis Control Division only has administrative authority, law enforcement has to deal with those illicit operations and they’re busy.

So, Bailey is planning to ask state lawmakers to give his department some extra power.

“If we get the law enforcement authority, we can go out and handle the seizure, we can handle the embargo, we can handle the destruction, we can handle the search warrants. We can handle a lot of stuff that takes it off their plate,” Bailey said. 

Bailey is requesting another million dollars to pay for seven special agents to handle all those enforcement operations. It’s a unit that already exists in other cannabis states like Colorado.

He’s also requesting another million for new equipment for all these new employees.

“It’s a pressing matter, and the longer we wait, the bigger it’s going to get, and the more problematic it’s going to be,” said Bailey. 

The 60-day legislative session is scheduled to begin on Jan. 21.