Local dispensary urges Tucumcari to extend cannabis hours and permit outdoor consumption to boost revenue

Manuel Blea, who identified himself as marketing coordinator and a representative of Tucumcari’s cannabis industry, urged the commission during public comment to place a resolution on the next agenda to amend Ordinance 1601, section 7(f), and to consider changing rules that prohibit outdoor cannabis consumption lounges.

Blea said the ordinance currently allows only indoor consumption under specific guidelines and that he seeks two changes: (1) extend retail hours from a 9 p.m. closing to midnight and (2) allow outdoor consumption lounges. He presented sales-data excerpts for his dispensary covering January through June and said that if hours were extended at his underperforming dispensary, monthly tax revenue would increase by $4,326; he estimated a potential annualized increase of $415,388 citywide if eight dispensaries achieved similar performance improvements.

Blea framed the change as increasing city tax revenue without raising taxes on constituents. He requested that a commissioner make a motion to add a resolution to the next meeting agenda to amend the ordinance. The public-comment period concluded without a formal motion; Blea thanked the commission and said he would provide the data.

Commission staff noted the city was actively reviewing the ordinance as a whole and that the item had not yet appeared on a formal agenda for change. Commissioners did not take action on the request at the meeting; staff and commissioners indicated the matter would proceed through the standard ordinance-amendment and public-notice processes.