Staff Reports
Legal marijuana for recreational use in New Mexico appeared to be a bonanza, but it has since come to light that the only ones profiting are industry insiders. Vana LLC, a cannabis manufacturing company, is receiving a substantial $90,000 from the Local Economic Development Act job-creation fund, as distributed by the New Mexico Economic Development Department. You read that correctly; taxpayers are funding a marijuana company.
New Mexico goes from legal marijuana to taxpayer-subsidized weed https://t.co/0PSuOiwFmY
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) February 6, 2024
The Department states that Vana LLC is utilizing these funds to build an opulent manufacturing and cultivation facility. They claim it will aid local farmers and generate jobs, but it appears that the pot pushers will emerge victorious. Even more, Vana has formed partnerships with Orenda Farms and Vana Society, which practically begs the question of the origin of a sitcom.
Furthermore, it continues from there. This is merely the initial donation made to a cannabis enterprise. The EDD has previously provided financial assistance to other marijuana and hemp enterprises via various distribution initiatives, such as the Job Training Incentive Program. The situation is akin to an unrestricted ambush for the marijuana industry, with the financial burden bearing by taxpayers.
Twelve new employees will be hired by Vana, earning an average of $46,000 per year. Over the next decade, they also plan to invest $2.6 million in the state. However, what is the financial burden on taxpayers?
The organization obtained the first cannabis manufacturing license authorized by the state two years ago, and they harbor ambitious goals for the coming years. To distribute their products to the recreational and medical markets, they are constructing not one but two retail locations, but rather indoor and outdoor farms, as well as an opulent manufacturing facility.
Notwithstanding this conspicuous utilization of public funds to finance their activities, Vana maintains that they will remit an estimated annual gross receipts tax of $350,000 to the City of Clovis. It's as if they are attempting to simultaneously have and consume their cake.
The Acting Secretary of EDD dares to characterize this as "evidence of the efficacy of the progressive economic policies implemented by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham." It is as if they are self-patting themselves on the back for charging taxpayers for their marijuana companions.
Despite the EDD's promotion of this as an economic and rural community boon, it appears to be a shoddy bargain for diligent taxpayers. It is time for the state to prioritize fiscally responsible policies that benefit all New Mexicans, not just a select few pot vendors, and stop financing these marijuana moochers.
