A new Associated Press report on the $300 million in sales New Mexico has reaped since it legalized recreational cannabis a year ago leaves little doubt Texans contributed heavily to that sum.
The report, which uses numbers from New Mexico's state cannabis control division, notes that the state's decision to legalize on April 1 of last year "brought sales to the doorstep of Texas, the largest prohibition state." Further, cannabis retailers and dispensaries near the Lone Star State racked up an "outsized portion" of New Mexico's first year of weed sales.
For example, one licensed pot business in the town of Sunland Park, located across the border from El Paso, pulled in some $19 million in sales, according to the Associated Press. The retailer did that booming business despite Sunland Park boasting fewer than 20,000 residents.
Similarly, a report from last April found that New Mexico dispensaries close to the Texas border had some of the heftiest sales in the days following legalization. Las Cruces, a half a mile from El Paso, for example, raked in more than $530,000 in sales the first week recreational weed was permitted.
The AP article correctly points out that Texans who go on weed runs to New Mexico and cross back with their purchases face potential legal consequences. However, the numbers suggest those consequences aren't exactly a huge deterrent.
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