With the demand so high for recreational cannabis, how are dispensaries taking care of medical users?
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- Since marijuana became legal in New Mexico on April 1, the demand has skyrocketed.
While dispensaries so far still have enough materials for everyone, there is concern that they might soon run out, which in turn could be detrimental for medical users.
As of February, almost 132,000 New Mexicans had enrolled in the Medical Cannabis Program, according to the state Department of Health.
Chad Lozano first got his medical marijuana license in 2013. He uses cannabis to help with his PTSD from when he served in Iraq in 2009.
Lozano said he has to live with the memories from Iraq for the rest of his life. He says exercise, talking with someone and smoking marijuana have become important tools for him to learn to cope with his experiences.
"There are certain times where it's a little harder, but cannabis makes it easier, so it just makes the management of it that much more tolerable," Lozano said.
In the first weekend of sales, there were $5.2 million in marijuana sales - 32.5% of sales were from medical patients while 67.5% were from recreational customers.
State law requires retailers to set aside 20% of their products for patients in the State’s Medical Cannabis Program.
Lozano said he anticipated dispensaries in the State would run out within 36 hours, but so far, dispensaries are still operating for both medical and recreational users. Lozano says the next big test will be on 4/20.
Sol Cannabis, a dispensary in Las Cruces, says right now they're not worried about running out anytime soon.
But Sol Cannabis is going the extra mile to ensure medical patients are taken care of.
If medical users present their medical card they can skip ahead of recreational users.
Sol Cannabis is also charging medical patients less than recreational users and staying consistent with what the prices were before recreational marijuana became legal.
They are still selling $10-$12 grams compared to other places that he says have jacked their prices up to $14-$18 a gram.
"We're trying to maintain that consistency of $10-$12 grams and keeping medical patients taken care of," Devin Lowther a manager at Sol Cannabis said.
Lowther told ABC-7 that medical patients have been keeping the Cannabis Program going for years, so it's only fair they are treated as such.
Some States approve cannabis for veterans to relieve symptoms of PTSD. However, the VA does not recommend cannabis for PTSD.