Baked Goods: Committed To Cannabis

Ultra Health Devotes To Budding Potential

\ May 17, 2018

2 min read

Committed to Cannabis — (Eric Williams Photography)

Though New Mexico’s politicians remain frustratingly timid in the cannabis crusade, the irrepressible impression of legalization’s inevitability is steadily creeping into public consciousness. With a promising precedent set by the nine states already welcoming recreational use, an auspicious spike in the medical cannabis industry in-state over the past two years suggests that public opinion towards cannabis is encouragingly positive, if not downright enthusiastic. And while in our imperfect democracy public opinion sometimes seems not to matter much, this blooming belief has buds in higher places that may do more to convince.

Last month, Ultra Health—already the highest-producing marijuana company in the state and the largest vertically-integrated one in the nation—announced plans to establish the country’s largest cannabis cultivation facility in Otero County next year.

Ultra Health Tularosa is expected to be a tremendous 8.7 million square foot facility that will “blend modern agribusiness and green technologies including solar, wind, and rainwater harvesting” in order to foster 200 acres of greenhouse, outdoor and hemp cultivation. What’s more, the company’s promise to bring revenue and at least one hundred jobs to the county has been widely embraced by the local community.

CEO and President Duke Rodriguez has recognized the opportunity to invest in New Mexico’s potential as a leading figure in the cannabis industry, and is anticipating a surge of demand “as we move forward to the social use of cannabis by adults, and the commercial production of hemp.”

Tangible steps towards this end could arrive as soon as the next election cycle, with two of the three Democratic gubernatorial candidates in support of legalization, but Ultra Health’s aspirations don’t depend on that happening quite yet. With first-quarter revenue suggesting that our medical marijuana industry is at an all-time high (and showing no signs of slowing down), they are simply preparing for the inevitable.

With these ambitious and decisive motions, Rodriguez and his company are unambiguously asserting their belief that New Mexico’s future is inextricably linked to the cannabis industry. Over the coming weeks, we will explore the manifold reasons their faith is much more than a pipe dream, from the ever-expanding applications of cannabis for medical purposes to the economic benefits already illuminating the way.