Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Marijuana flowers and joints are among the the products available at Budding Hope, a medical marijuana dispensary in Clovis. Curry County experienced one of the largest growth rates of medical marijuana cardholders in the state last year.
CLOVIS — The medical marijuana market — both locally and across the state — is far from going up in smoke.
According to the New Mexico Department of Health's data, in 2017 Curry county experienced the second-highest growth rate of medical marijuana cardholders out of the 21 counties in the state that began the year with at least 200 cardholders.
Curry nearly doubled its enrollees in the state's medical cannabis program, increasing from 452 to 891 cardholders.
Part of that growth can be attributed to the opening of a new dispensary, Ultra Health, which began serving Clovis customers in January 2017.
Ultra Health Communications Manager Marissa Novel said that when a community adds a new dispensary, more people learn about the state's medical cannabis program and become cardholders.
"We truly feel that patient enrollment tends to rapidly increase after access increases," Novel said.
Mario Gonzales Sr., the co-founder of Curry county's other dispensary, Budding Hope, pointed to several reasons why he has seen the number of cardholders grow since the Clovis location first opened in 2014, including increased medical marijuana awareness and previously unmet needs in rural areas.
"The primary reason is because people are learning about (medical marijuana) and there has been some additional qualifying conditions," Gonzales Sr. said. "The reason you see additional cardholders in Clovis is because Clovis is a rural area and the servicing of rural areas has been more laxed."
Roosevelt county also boasted a considerable influx of new cardholders in 2017, more than doubling its numbers from 132 to 268.
Novel said Ultra Health's opening may be a cause of the growth in Roosevelt county as well.
She said a new location opening can bring in customers from outside the county, which would makes sense in this case given the proximity between Clovis and Portales.
"We've seen as access increases in one county, patients will drive to the next county to receive their medication," Novel said.
New Mexicans have also shown a willingness to grow their own medical marijuana.
According to a press release from Ultra Health, 14 percent of New Mexico medical marijuana patients are registered to grow their own medicine, compared to just 1 percent across the border in Arizona.
Gonzales Sr. said Budding Hope tries to help patients interested in growing their own marijuana by providing any supplies they need including lighting and seeds.
He said although homegrown cannabis is more affordable than what patients will find in a dispensary, it does not come without its disadvantages.
"It gets expensive if they are growing indoors, it gets very risky if you are growing outdoors, but if you're in the right location, it's a good way, we encourage people to try growing their own cannabis," Gonzales Sr. said.
Overall enrollment in New Mexico's medical cannabis program increased 61 percent in 2017, growing from 29,046 to 46,645 cardholders.
Of the 33 counties in New Mexico, now Curry ranks 14th and Roosevelt ranks 23rd in number of cardholders. According to 2014 estimates, Curry ranks 12th and Roosevelt ranks 20th in population.
New Mexico became the 12th state to legalize medical marijuana in 2007.
