Out-of-state enrollment for New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program has given the patient count a boost. Three-year patient cards have been issued to 130 patients residing outside of the southwestern U.S. state, which legalized medical cannabis back in 2007; making it the 12th U.S. state to do so.

Individuals in possession of three-year patient cards can now legally purchase medical cannabis during a visit to the state. Throughout the entire of October, 118 new out-of-state patients had enrolled in New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program. This is a 25 percent increase since October 2018. By October 31, 2019, enrollment for the program rested at 78,362 patients.

The data was published by the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) and it comes courtesy of Ultra Health®. According to the Department, many out-of-state patients are coming from Texas. However, New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program is also seeing interest from patients in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan and Oklahoma. The NMDOH also revealed that Mexican nationals are enrolling in the medical cannabis program.

Judge recently granted out-of-state enrollment in Mexico’s medical cannabis program 

There is a good reason why New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program has seen such an increase in enrollment figures over the last few months. Back in September, Santa Fe District Court Judge Bryan Biedschied ruled in favor of allowing non-residents to apply for three-year patient cards.

No other U.S. State has, so far, enabled non-residents to obtain cards with a three-year validity. The cards enable out-of-state patients to purchase medical cannabis at licensed dispensaries spread across New Mexico. An additional 18.4 million grams of cannabis will be produced to satisfy demand for New Mexico’s medical cannabis program, and that’s just based on what Texas could yield for the state. 

A seven-hour drive – or just a little over an hour on a plane – separates New Mexico from Texas, where cannabis is legal for medical purposes. With thousands of Texans already enrolled in similar programs in their own state, many are likely to enroll upon visiting and holidaying in nearby New Mexico. Plus, since two million Texans live just two hours – or less – from the New Mexico border, access to plant medicine outside of their own cannabis-friendly state is now easier than ever. 

“If only five percent of two million Texas residents were to enroll in the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program, enrollment in the Program would increase by 100,000, more than doubling the current enrollment of approximately 77,000 patients,” says NMDOH Secretary Kathy Kunkel; written in an Affidavit dated September 12, 2019.

Medical cannabis in New Mexico supplied by largest vertically integrated provider in the U.S.

Of all the cannabis companies spread across the state, Ultra Health New Mexico takes the top spot as the largest vertically-integrated medical cannabis provider in the U.S. At the current time, Ultra Health operates 20 dispensaries peppered around the state. In the second quarter of next year, an additional 10 stores are anticipated to open their doors and serve the growing patient demographic.

Ultra Health – which is affiliated with Israeli pharmaceutical group Panaxia – excels in diversity when it comes to offering consumers a varied selection of smokeless medical cannabis products; including controlled-dose pastilles, oils, sublingual tablets and suppositories. 

The company continues to fight for patients rights and ensure that supply meets demand for New Mexico’s growing medical cannabis patient count. By the end of 2019, more than 80,000 patients are likely to be enrolled in New Mexico’s medical cannabis program.

In 2018, the patient program pulled in $106 million in revenue; a 23 percent increase from the year prior, when annual revenue was $19.6 million less. This year, figures are anticipated to be significantly better than last year’s. With the inclusion of out-of-state enrollment in the program’s rules, the future looks promising for New Mexico’s medical cannabis industry.