ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico medical cannabis grower who wants to advertise on Albuquerque buses was turned down by city officials, who say the ads would violate federal laws and put the city at risk of losing transit funding.
Duke Rodriguez, owner of Ultra Health LLC, had planned to buy an ad on the outside of ABQ Ride buses advertising the firm’s three Albuquerque dispensaries. Ultra Health had planned to spend up to $25,000 a year on the ads, he said.
STATE BY STATE: New Mexico Cannabis News
Bruce Rizzieri, director of the city’s transit department, cited federal drug laws in a Sept. 13 letter to Rodriguez rejecting Ultra Health’s request.
Rizzieri said that “even if the medical cannabis program is allowed under state law, advertising of Schedule 1 substances is still prohibited by federal law.”
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration lists marijuana as a Schedule 1 controlled substance.
