Crimes targeting dispensaries, such as break-ins and thefts, are seemingly rising across the U.S., and one New Mexico cannabis retailer faced a break-in last Friday, right ahead of its grand opening.
With adult-use cannabis sales launching April 1 in New Mexico, Xtracts cannabis dispensary was preparing to serve additional customers in Albuquerque, KOB 4 reported.
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David White, the founder of Xtracts and Organtica, a New Mexico-based medical cannabis dispensary, said it’s “not the first time” this has happened.
“We got broken into, which is never a good time, but I’ve got to tell you, we’ve had worse,” White told KOB 4.
According to the news outlet, White expressed that the dispensary followed strict security measures, as it had cameras surrounding the premises, motion detectors, and alarms.
“Cannabis locations need to be very secure,” White said. “Ours was very secure; we just had an unfortunate incident, [where] somebody really took an enormous amount of effort and time and broke through walls from a business right next to ours.”
However, White told the news outlet that the thief did not get away with anything, as all products are locked in safes overnight.
Xtracts is now back open and is ready to serve the state’s adult-use and medical cannabis market. White also left some food for thought for other dispensaries regarding security measures.
“Have a good monitoring service. Know where your possible weak areas are, whether it’s above through skylights, whether it’s through a neighboring business, or digging a tunnel underneath your dispensaries. If there’s a will, there’s a way, and unfortunately, there’s a lot of people who have the will to do that kind of damage,” he told KOB 4.
