The New Mexico Cannabis Control Division served a cease and desist order July 27 to Speak Easy NM, which has allegedly been “gifting” cannabis to customers at its Las Cruces store.
The retailer, which identifies itself as an “organics company and gift shop,” had been offering small amounts of cannabis as gifts to customers who made purchases, according to a Las Cruces Sun News report.
The Cannabis Control Division’s cease and desist order claimed that two investigators visited Speak Easy NM on July 20 and met with the business’s owners, who allegedly claimed that gifting cannabis is legal under the New Mexico Cannabis Regulation Act, the state’s adult-use cannabis law.
While commercial adult-use cannabis sales aren’t expected to launch in New Mexico until April 2022, the Cannabis Regulation Act became effective June 29 and allows adults 21 and older to possess 2 ounces of cannabis flower, 16 grams of cannabis extract and 800 milligrams of edible cannabis. The law also legalizes the home cultivation of cannabis, which allows adults to grow up to six plants at home for personal use.
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As far as gifting cannabis is concerned, the Las Cruces Sun News reported that the Cannabis Regulation Act allows adults to share cannabis with other adults, but “without financial consideration,” which includes indirect sales or trade.
The Cannabis Control Division’s order claims Speak Easy NM’s gifting practices constitute illegal trafficking, and the agency demanded that the company stop gifting cannabis to its customers, although it did not take any punitive action or order the business to halt its operations.
The sometimes ambiguous issue of gifting cannabis is not unique to New Mexico; earlier this month, after a new law in Connecticut prohibited the sale of delta-7, -8 and -10 products outside the state’s licensed cannabis market, NBC Connecticut reported that a West Hartford retailer planned to give away its remaining delta-8 gummies, although Connecticut’s state law says stores “shall not gift or transfer cannabis at no cost to a consumer as part of a commercial transaction.”
Speak Easy NM, which celebrated its grand opening on July 17, temporarily closed while the team evaluated its legal options, according to the Las Cruces Sun News. The company then announced July 28 that it would reopen and comply with the Cannabis Control Division’s order.
“At no time were the management or employees of Speak Easy under the impression they were violating any laws or regulations," Matt Madrid, the company's attorney, said in a statement to ABC-7.
