2 million worth of cannabis sold on first day in New Mexico

Legal cannabis sales are off to a strong start in New Mexico. With $1.96 million worth of products sold, the southwestern U.S. state can even boast of having «beaten» Colorado figures. Cannabis is officially legal since Friday April 1, and adults can store in 250 boutiques.

During the first weekend of legalization (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), merchants recorded over 87,000 transactions. Over these three days, sales of recreational cannabis exceeded $3.5 million. All these figures are proudly put forward by the governor of New Mexico. Michelle Grisham even visited a store on the first day of legalization.

«The start of recreational cannabis sales are one of the most successful, perhaps even the most successful, of any U.S. state, congratulated the Democrat elected representative in a press release. Plus, we beat Colorado's first-day sales figures! It's clear that cannabis will be a contributor to our economy.»

The Cannabis Control Division is also pleased to report that there were no shortages in the first few days that the dispensaries were open. «Customers and patients were able to buy the products they wanted or needed».», assures its boss, Kristen Thomson.

300 million first-year sales

In 2014, Colorado residents had bought for a million dollars worth of cannabis on its first day. That's half as much as New Mexico. But it's not a record, either. In 2020, Illinois hit hard, by exceeding $3 million in a single day. Chicago has almost six times the population of New Mexico.

The state now hopes to sell $300 million in the first year of legalization. To achieve these figures, it is counting on its Texan neighbors. Indeed, the state's 30 million inhabitants have access to neither medical nor recreational cannabis.

For example, the small town of Sunland Park has a population of 11,000 but has received... 30 applications for licenses to open a cannabis business. This is no coincidence. The town is just ten kilometers from El Paso, one of the largest cities in Texas, with a population of 2 million, the size of Paris.