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Higher Cultures LLC, a cannabis dispensary and producer based in Oregon with manufacturing facilities in Las Cruces, received a $50,130 grant for job training, according to an announcement from the New Mexico Economic Development Department on July 17.
The grant is meant to train up to seven new employees with $21 per hour wages, according to NMEDD. The money is part of a million-dollar fund to stimulate job training efforts across New Mexico.
“Higher Cultures aims to provide the best quality cannabis products in New Mexico, to run a responsible and profitable business, and to create quality jobs in the communities in which they operated,” NMEDD said in a news release. “Higher Cultures New Mexico is focused on manufacturing, the area the company has most experience in.”
According to Higher Cultures’ website, they manufacture resin cartridges for vaping and extracts in Las Cruces.
Cannabis was legalized for non-medical use by adults in 2021, with production and sales regulated by the state Cannabis Control Division since 2022. Since then, the state has reported over $1.2 billion in total sales, including medical and non-medical products, from over 1,000 dispensaries in the state. Monthly reported sales of adult-use cannabis peaked in March 2024, with $39.5 million statewide, while medical cannabis sales declined to $11.5 million in June.
During 2024, southern New Mexico producers have contended with a highly saturated retail market as well as a crackdown by U.S. Border Patrol on cannabis products moving through checkpoints. Despite the plant’s legalization in New Mexico, cannabis remains prohibited under federal law and is subject to confiscation at federal checkpoints.
