Arizona-based Ultra Health is making a large investment in what many think will be New Mexico's next cash crop.
The cannabis company has "officially broken ground on multiple capital expansion projects" in New Mexico in preparation of the upcoming recreational cannabis use and sales, according to a news release. It plans to expand retail, production, manufacturing and distribution operations, including those in Bernalillo County, Sandoval County, Socorro County and Otero County, the release said.
By the end of the year, Ultra Health plans to have a retail presence in 28 of New Mexico's 33 counties. The expansion effort will come at a cost of more than $20 million, funded by the company's cash reserves.
The announcement comes less than two months after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the legalization bill, which permits the launch of recreational cannabis sales by April 1, 2022.
The largest of the company's expansion projects is a 28 acre parcel of land and 225,000 square foot building in southern New Mexico. The building provides room for production, warehousing, research and development, maintenance and office space, according to the release.
Ultra Health also revealed the purchase of a 50,000-square-foot distribution facility south of Albuquerque. It is intended to help move cannabis to the southern reaches of the state. The company has increased its outdoor cultivation footprint with the acquisition of 150 acres of farmland, adding to 200 acres of existing farmland in the same area previously purchased by the company, according to the release.
"There is no question that the greatest lift the state and operators will need to accomplish is putting enough plants in the ground to meet demand for both medical purchasers and adult-use consumers,” said Duke Rodriguez, CEO and President of Ultra Health, in a statement. “However, the unforeseen obstacle is the undeniable and impending bottleneck that is post-harvest processing, logistics and management... Licensees will need to deploy substantial energy and capital to ensure the proper handling of cannabis products from seed to sale."
Ultra Health employs almost 300 New Mexicans, according to the release, with plans to hire hundreds more for retail, cultivation, packaging, distribution and other types of services for the medical and recreational cannabis markets. And the company plans to open 20 new dispensaries in the next year, the release says.
Nearly 32,000 patients purchased from Ultra Health in 2020, and the company had total gross receipts of about $40 million that year, according to our List of New Mexico Medical Cannabis Companies. Ultra Health says its expansion efforts in 2020 totaled more than $12 million and included the construction of a new greenhouse and the purchase of a commercial building that will serve as its New Mexico headquarters.
