Serving the High Plains
The second and third recreational cannabis dispensaries opened in Tucumcari last week.
Puff on 66 on East Tucumcari Boulevard (aka Route 66) opened last Monday, and Downtown Dispensary on Second Street opened two days later.
The Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce held ceremonial ribbon-cuttings for both businesses the days they opened to the public.
Buds n’ More Dispensary on South First Street near Interstate 40 was the first Tucumcari such business to open, on April 1.
Jaclyn Dominguez, co-owner of Puff on 66, on Thursday estimated more than half of its business had come from tourists who live out-of-state.
“We’ve had people from everywhere,” she said.
She and employees proceeded to tick off customers from Oregon, Wisconsin, Nevada, South Carolina — all whom took old Route 66 through Tucumcari from the freeway.
Dominguez said she was impressed by the tourist traffic at her store, even though Route 66 tourism season not yet in full swing.
“It was more than we expected at this time of year,” she said.
Puff on 66 contains a main lobby, where workers check identification of prospective clients. Customers then can be guided to a back room where they can look at marijuana-infused tinctures, capsules, vapes, gummies, marijuana flower and a smattering of merchandise that includes T-shirts and coffee mugs.
It even offers tinctures to treat pets that suffer from anxiety or seizures.
Dominguez said Puff on 66 also is holding “senior hours” two days a week in the mornings that allow senior citizens a more leisurely and less crowded space to do their shopping.
At Downtown Dispensary, customers are required to show their identification to a camera outside the front door, where a clerk inside unlocks it.
Inside, cannabis products such as chocolates, gummies, vapes, pipes and flower all are behind tall Plexiglass shields. Transactions are conducted behind plastic shields, as well.
Downtown Dispensary manager Twyla DeShazo said she designed a more secure place to sell recreational cannabis after hearing about “scary instances” in Albuquerque.
“It’s always safety first for me,” she said.
DeShazo took pride in her shop offering chocolates and gummies infused with THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, that also happen to be produced organically.
She said sales were strong Wednesday, April 20 — or 4/20, an unofficial holiday for many marijuana aficionados that dates to the 1970s.
“It’s been exciting, challenging, fun,” she said Thursday.
At least three other cannabis retail establishments in Tucumcari likely will open in the days and weeks ahead.
According to the New Mexico Cannabis Control Division, seven retail applications have been filed in Tucumcari. More than 20 other applications in the Tucumcari ZIP code have been filed by prospective producers, microbusinesses or manufacturers.
No other cannabis applications have been filed elsewhere in Quay County.