By KRWG News
New Mexico – New Mexico proposes to raise fees on medical marijuana producers to bring in money to administer the program.
The Department of Health, which operates the medical cannabis program, plans to increase the application fee for producers from the current $100 to $1,000.
It also wants to establish a new annual fee on the licensed nonprofits that grow medical marijuana.
The fee would be equal to 7 percent of a producer's total gross receipts.
Health Department spokeswoman Deborah Busemeyer says preliminary estimates are that each producer could generate $300,000 to $400,000 in gross revenues a year.
She says the fees will help the medical marijuana program be financially self-sufficient.
The agency plans a hearing Sept. 30 in Santa Fe on the proposed changes to the regulations governing the program.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.