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New Mexico Announces Effort To Address Medical Marijuana Shortage

The demand for medical marijuana in New Mexico has outpaced production, and now state health officials have a plan for tackling the shortage.

The Department of Health announced two proposals Friday.

One calls for increasing the limit that producers can have from 150 plants and seedlings to 150 mature plants and up to 300 seedlings.

The other proposal calls for opening the application process to add as many as 12 licensed, nonprofit growers. There are currently 23 licensed growers in the state.

The department will hold a public hearing this spring to formally propose the necessary rule changes.

Health Secretary Retta Ward also accepted an advisory board's recommendation to add Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease to the list of qualifying conditions for New Mexico's medical marijuana program.

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