New Mexico's legalization of recreational marijuana use in 2021, followed by sales starting in 2022, elicited a cannabis boom that sparked enthusiasm from the Governor's Office to college programs for business owners.
Some of that excitement has been borne out by the data. According to a jobs report from the Colorado-based cannabis staffing company Vangst, New Mexico's industry experienced annual job growth of 30% from last year to this year, with 1,952 new jobs bringing the state's total number of cannabis jobs to 8,517 as of March.
The number of licensed dispensaries reporting sales to the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department's Cannabis Control Division in April 2022 was 231. That number grew to 697 in September of this year, with 43 reporting sales in Santa Fe.
Higher education also has jumped on board, with the University of New Mexico Continuing Education division recently announcing an expansion of its cannabis education programming. In partnership with cannabis education leader Green Flower, the division will offer three new online certificate programs geared toward cultivation, retail, and product development.
Read more at Santa Fe New Mexican