New Mexico cannabis sales: How Texans are impacting the state’s revenue
CHAPARRAL, New Mexico -- Astro Buds in Chaparral, just a mile from the Texas border, has only been operating for two weeks, but the amount of traffic coming in and out made it look like it's been around for a lot longer.
They've already generated $15,000 in tax revenue for the state of New Mexico in the short time they've been open. The dispensary's head cultivator, Michael Castro, attributed this to Texans driving up to buy their product.
"They're coming from Socorro, Clint, the east side...coming here to try our cannabis," said Castro.
He added that "around 70 to 80%" of their customers come from Texas. New Mexico reported a new high of $40 million in marijuana sales for the month of July, and it should be noted that 5 of the top 10 New Mexico cities in revenue (#3 Las Cruces, #5 Hobbs, #6 Sunland Park, #7 Carlsbad, #8 Clovis, #9 Alamogordo) are located within 100 miles of the Texas border.
ABC-7 spoke with a customer of the dispensary, and he was excited about what the revenue boost from cannabis taxes means for the community.
"It's actually making a good impact because it's providing a good economic boost," said Xavier Backus.
"It allows more taxes to go in and out of the system and allows for more stuff, such as working on the roads here," he added.
It should be noted that the use and possession of recreational marijuana is illegal in the state of Texas, including bringing cannabis legally purchased in New Mexico over the state line.
