New Mexico officials announced that July’s sales of controlled cannabis exceeded $40 million. It is the highest sales since state legalization. According to the Regulation and Licensing Department’s Cannabis Control Division, the total monthly cannabis purchases have surpassed $40 million since April when recreational marijuana was legalized in New Mexico.

The month of July saw more than $40,000,000 in sales from licensed New Mexican retailers, and sales of adult-use marijuana surpassed $23million. Cannabis sales totaled more than $39 million in April, the first month of legalized recreational sales and the state’s previous record high, with April adult-use sales totaling just over $22 million. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico stated that figures showed that the state is creating a strong recreational market.

“These numbers show that the impressive sales generated in the first month of legalized recreational cannabis sales were no fluke – and this is only the beginning,” Lujan Grisham said on Thursday in a statement from the governor’s office. “We’ve established a new industry that is already generating millions of dollars in local and state revenue and will continue to generate millions more in economic activity across the state, creating thousands of jobs for New Mexicans in communities both small and large.”

State officials noted that the strongest sales of cannabis were reported in New Mexico’s most populated areas including Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Hobbs, and Rio Rancho. Albuquerque had the most cannabis sales, accounting for $14 million of combined adult-use and medical cannabis purchases in July. Santa Fe followed with an estimated $3.5million in total sales. Sunland, Hobbs and San Antonio, which are both bordering Texas, saw more than $1million in combined adult-use marijuana sales.

The launch of new cannabis products is helping to drive sales

Rusty Poe (manager of Sol Cannabis Las Cruces) stated to local media that the shop’s sales continue increasing.

“Sales have actually been steadily increasing for us, the more product we bring in the more sales we have,” said Poe, noting that new products on the dispensary menu including cannabis-infused beverages and edibles have helped fuel the uptick in sales.

New Mexico Cannabis Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ben Lewinger said that the state’s cannabis sales figures are a victory for New Mexico and its growing industry.

“I couldn’t be prouder of my home state,” said Lewinger. “The Cannabis Regulation Act presented what felt like an impossible timeline to stand up a brand new adult use cannabis industry, yet here (we) are – four months into legal cannabis for folks over 21 and we have record sales, for not only adult use but also our cherished medical cannabis program. …Best of all, no one city or county owns this success — the industry will continue to grow across the entire state.”

Dispensaries have sold more than $88 millions in recreational marijuana since April when adult-use cannabis was legalized. Monthly sales figures are released by the Cannabis Control Division. Data is made public at the beginning each month on the previous month.

New Mexico’s rising sales of adult-use cannabis are a boon for the public coffers as well as the state’s cannabis industry. Charlie Moore, a spokesperson for New Mexico’s Taxation and Revenue Department said that June’s cannabis exise tax returns topped $2.5 million. In late August, the agency will release information about July’s tax revenue from cannabis sales.