Written by Joseph Jaramillo
Photography by Marcos Lovato
Let’s go inside and take a glimpse at northern New Mexico’s newest premier
cannabis dispensary, the esteemed family of entrepreneurs that put it in to
motion, and the highly regarded flowers, concentrates, tinctures, edibles, and
pristine patient care provided by New MexiCann.
The dispensary is located in the heart of
the desert in Santa Fe, NM, with an expansion
site taking place in Taos,
which recently opened its
doors, and two new sites arriving
shortly in Espanola and
Las Vegas, respectively.
As you drive through the
gates of the dispensary’s two
acre lot, you can feel the
positive energy, and sense
of peace, surround you. The
building has the traditional Santa Fe architecture
and design, from the scenery
to the furniture, we’ve grown to adore.
Once you reach the entrance of the shop,
you’re greeted by multiple
bud-tenders, with bright
smiles, behind the countertops,
eager to assist with intriguing
strains, championed
for their various uses against
day-to-day to severe ailments.
Browsing through their
plentiful and vast selection,
you may run across White
Widow is great for stress
reduction and depression), Granny Derkle
(An Indica strain, born from the NYC Die
sel), Granddaddy Purple and Purple Urkle
(similar strains that help with insomnia and
pain relief). They also carry Blue Dream,
Train Wreck, Critical Plus, Kush Bomb, AK-
47, The Northern Lights and plus a plethora
more, all proudly grown, right here in New
Mexico.
As you go further around the counter, we
find some delectable edibles in chocolate
raspberry bites, caramel corn, chocolate
fudge, brownies, oatmeal raisin cookies, as
well as an assortment of hard candies and
lollipops.
Finally, we arrive at the counter space
containing the wildly popular concentrates.
In tow are the RSO Hash Oil, Pressed
Kief Hash, Black Temple Hash, and of
course the coveted, caviar, a flower
wrapped in hash oil and kief.
To get all this medicine on the shelves, it
takes a lot of dedication, innumerable
sleepless nights, hard work, knowledge
and persistence. New Mexico became
a medical marijuana state in 2007, under
Governor Bill Richardson, when he signed
the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act.
At the time it was a rare move, because
only ten other states prior to 2007, made
medicinal cannabis legal. New MexiCann
opened its doors in 2010 with a partnership
of five family members. Furthermore,
I’d like to highlight their roles and how it
shaped the development of the dispensary.
Eli Goodman, Director of Manufacturing
and Distribution, is highly educated,
son of Leh Goodman, his insatiable quest
for knowledge, mirrors his father’s ambitions.
Mr. Goodman, always keeping his
patients’ best interests at heart, travels to
several locations to attend conventions
and seminars, to further explore the “ever-growing” and innovative cannabis culture.
Acquiring this bountiful knowledge,
he returns to New MexiCann, ready to
apply what he’s picked up on his travels,
to push this dispensary to New Mexico’s
forefront, boasting advanced techniques
and maintaining a strict set of testing for
flower and concentrate products, ensuring
his patients receive nothing but the absolute
best. The ever-so-changing regulations
create challenges, but Mr. Goodman
makes sure everything is consistent; the onsite
testing in the facility ensures everything
is safe and effective for the patients. He
takes pride from seed to flower to concentrate
to beyond, everything is regulated
and kept recorded. Mr. Goodman, along
with his father, is thinking about the future
with new innovations for the environment
and their patients.
Leh Goodman, Executive Director, Owner
of New MexiCann, is a very peaceful soul,
very concerned about our environment.
Currently, his vision of building two state of
the art green houses to cut down on energy
costs, is coming to life. I had a conversation
with him and he asked; “Do you
know what bottom line is?” I replied, “No
I don’t, sir.” He then explained to me that
everyone thinks, because you’re in the
cannabis business they think it’s all profit,
but you spend a considerable amount
on energy. Whether it’s on efficient green
houses and indoor grow areas, you spend
money to save the planet and keep it
clean and ecofriendly. In the long run, this
costly process is for our future, our children,
their medical needs, and that’s where I
saw where his main equity was, very humble,
thinking of his patients and what’s best
for them. He went on to tell me when he first started, he personally contacted the
DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) to tell
them what was going on, they replied they
knew everything that was happening. He
then told the DEA that he had nothing to
hide, everything is done right by state law,
and if they ever wanted to take a look at
anything, they were welcome with open
arms. They could have keys, pass codes,
full security access, he just plead they
don’t arrive with a swat team and assault
rifles, he simply wanted peace and safety,
for his patients and his employees. I was so
intrigued by this man that he said to me;
“I like the way you take notes.” I replied,
“I have it all in my head, sir.” Extremely
intelligent, he went on to talk about the
60,s and how things were more liberated
before the Nixon administration, and the
pitfalls of the Reagan era, but that’s a
whole different story altogether. Ultimately,
Mr. Goodman, Sr. cares about his patients
and bringing facilities to different locations
to facilitate their needs. Many patients,
who can barely afford their medicine,
won’t have to spend additional funds on
gas or spend time traveling many hours to
acquire what they need. From streamlining
the purchasing process to going green, it’s
all a part of the plan at New Mexicann for
a better tomorrow.
Susan Goodman, Administrative and Accounting
Director, is Leh’s beloved wife
and mother of Jennifer. I didn’t get the
pleasure of interviewing her for this piece,
but rest assured she plays a very important
and integral role in the company.
Jennifer Gonzales, Master Gardener, the
Garden Goddess. What can I say? The
term “garden goddess” says it all. Jennifer
is the premier grower in New Mexico.
When you walk through her rows of plants,
you walk out with the “sticky icky” feel all
over your fingertips, indicating the maturity
and potential potency of the plant.
She has an intimate connection with her
special “ladies” as they are commonly
referred to, building an unshakable bond
with what she’s cultivated. She pointed
out that her white widow plants, her blue
dream, and northern lights were all having
a conversation. In the seedling room, she
snapped a thick branch on this beautiful
plant. We all paused in slight terror, she
broke it, and you could hear it through the
entire room. She giggled, and assured us
she was their “chiropractor,” and they get
stiff like we do, when our backs get stiff,
they need to be re-aligned, same principle
goes for the rows of “ladies” lined
up. These plants love her and you can feel
the motion, when they know she’s around.
She takes a lot of pride in her work, and
knowing that she’s in a male dominated
industry, she’s undaunted by any challenge
or task. Maintaining a marriage and
children, while balancing a full fledging
career is a difficulty to anyone, regardless
of gender, but she does it seamlessly and
encourages educating her children in her
craft. Her along with her husband Carlos,
shared a story about their dau here cigarettes
and alcohol are legal and kill more
people than most fast food industries and
stray bullets combined. The statistics are
startling. All this madness, while Jennifer’s
green thumb is a touch of heaven, educating
her patients and making sure her
family is on the right path.
Carlos Gonzales, Director of Cultivation
and Facilities, he specializes in the upkeep
of the rooms that hold the plants. His duties
vary from late night trips regarding
proper ventilation, regulating temperatures,
extracting bugs, electrical work and
fixing anything else that can tamper with
the precious ecosystems which they’ve
created. Carlos is also concerned dearly
about the environment. He chooses not to
use any city water, he opts to recycle and
filters from different sources, such as the air
conditioners. His mind is set on running at
ultimate efficiency, from utilizing the newest
innovative lighting systems to energy
saving techniques implemented to practicing
proper harvest procedures. Anything
can go wrong from the starting stages, to
the flower stages, to the harvest stages
and Carlos has dealt with it all. Plus how
can you really try to imitate Mother Nature
and continuously nurture flawless crops?
It’s quite the feat. He also provides security,
when we had our conversation, we
were in a very safe, undisclosed area. He
informed me of complaints they received
because of the smell, random police visits,
and just regulating the grounds. Looks
like his job working with mother nature will
never end, especially with those 2 new
greenhouses on the way.
In closing, it’s sad what patients have to go
through to get genuine medicine. When all
along, our own government has a patent
for cannabis under cannabinoids as neuroprotectants,
antioxidants for diabetes, heart
disease, alzheimers and huntingtons disease.
They say is has no medicinal value, but how
is that possible? They deny a person a treatment
that takes away their pain, all the time,
and that’s immoral. When there’s pharmacies
everywhere, even our grocery stores have
them, potentially providing medicine for billions
worldwide. However our laws and our
lawmakers have other plans. The days that
cannabis was depicted as a monster lurking
under your bed are fading and people are
becoming more familiar with the truth. This
family to me should be considered pioneers
and not criminals, because they chose this
path and believed that it was the right thing
to do, to help those that needed a special
kind of treatment. Orthodox medicine can’t
cover every field and the minds of today are
beginning to grasp that. They don’t only grow
cannabis at New MexiCann, they’re also
building a garden with tomatoes, zucchini,
many fruits and different vegetables to give
to their patients and the people of the community.
When is the last time your pharmacy
cared about your health and wellbeing and
not just, how much money you have? They’re
here for me and they’ll be here for you, when
any one you may know comes down with an
illness that cannabis will help, think New Mexi-
Cann, not New MexiCann’t. This is just the
beginning, the rest of the story is still growing.
