Two companies looking to establish cannabis farms near Estancia have had their applications denied.
Quick Grow, LLC and an individual named Miyong Cheng both had their applications denied during a contentious Aug. 7 meeting of the Torrance County Planning and Zoning Board. Quick Grow’s application was for a farm near Akin Farm Road and Cheng’s application was for a farm near Riley Road a few miles away.
Over a dozen community members attended the meeting to protest the applications. John Humphries, who has been operating a farm about a mile away from the Quick Grow site, attended the meeting.
He said he came to protest the farms for several reasons.
“I certainly have a big concern about our limited water resources out here being turned into gummies,” Humphries said. “They’re an eyesore, the light pollution from more than 40 hoop houses is terrible.”
Humphries said he also has concerns about security.
“The Akin Farm location is more than two miles from the nearest road. It’s going to bring commercial traffic that these dirt roads can’t handle, and it will have a lot of people we don’t know using it. I use that road to manage cows and I’m often by myself,” he said.
P & Z Planning Director Don Goen said that with so many community members showing up to the meeting in opposition to the applications, the board chose to deny them.
Both applications were denied in a 3-1 vote.
Other cannabis farms fined
In January, the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department revoked licenses for two cannabis cultivators near Estancia after the farms received violations for exceeding allowable plant limits.
Bliss Farm and Native American Agricultural Development Co., each located near Estancia, were ordered to cease all commercial cultivation activity following multiple violations issued by the state’s Cannabis Control Division.
The CCD levied $1 million fines against each business.
Native American Agricultural Development Co. is still in operation.
According to Lauren Rodriguez, spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Justice, Bliss Farm, which is Chinese-owned, is under federal and state investigation for wage theft and human trafficking allegations.
Humphries said he doesn’t have any opinions about cannabis itself, but rather the lack of real regulation. “It feels like we have a drug cartel that’s running things without any accountability.”
Editor’s Note: The Independent’s publisher/owner Pat Davis is also the owner of Weeds, LLC, a regulation consulting firm that provided assistance to one of the applicants in this story. Davis was not involved in the application or this story.