History is being rewritten, as we speak, in the Land of Enchantment and now that the results are in, we’re announcing the winners of  the High Times Cannabis Cup New Mexico: People’s Choice Edition 2023 representing the best cannabis the state has to offer. And while the pandemic reshaped the way we think about in-person events, we’re back and stronger than ever. In fact, it’s our first live event in three years.

This year, the High Times Cannabis Cup New Mexico: People’s Choice Edition 2023 aired live and we also had a top-notch live event with a slew of iconic performers. High Times teamed up with New Mexico’s own Fusion Promotions and 101.3 The Hustle to present the Cannabis Cup’s live concert event.

The Awards Show aired live and in-person at the event which took place at the Rio Rancho Events Center in Rio Rancho, near Albuquerque on Saturday, Dec. 9. The Rio Rancho Events Center is an 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena and Saturday will be filled with the best herb and products in New Mexico.

This year featured 11 categories for a total of 33 products narrowed down as first, second, or third place winners for 2023. Many enter the competition, but few are chosen. Each of these winners received an exclusive High Times trophy. Among these top winners you’ll find champs like The Grower Circle, hvst, Seed Junky, Prohibition 37, Mountaintop Extracts, and many more fine brands that deserve to be mentioned. 

Headlining the event was the iconic stoner duo Method Man and Redman, responsible for some of the best hip-hop to come from Def Jam, who were joined by Paul Wall, Devin the Dude, Lil Flip, Haizi Haze, Jawny Badluck, DJ Aldo Caldo and other special guests.

The event kicked off with the High Times New Mexico Cannabis Cup Award Show, where brands were presented with their wins. But with all this fine herb, the munchies are bound to kick in. That’s why we had Q Bone, Snoop Dogg’s own personal chef whip up some of Snoop’s best munchie recipes.

We also had Mr. Melty Land, an immersive experience put together by Mr. Melty, Stashbox and Disopopages. You could also find a Joint Rolling Competition by Head Space Alchemy and Crescent Valley Management where guests competed for the title of “Best Joint Roller.” On top of that, we had live glass blowing demonstrations, and tons of vendors with the new-new products you need.

Individuals who are 21 and over, or 18 and over with a medical cannabis card were eligible to snag a judging kit. Over 2,000 ordinary cannabis lovers sampled and rated the best cannabis products in the state with more than 185 entries competing for the wins. The highly-coveted Judge Kits included locally-grown products including flower, gummies, pre-rolls, and concentrates from dispensaries across New Mexico. Below are the winners of first, second, and third places across 11 categories.

Indica Flower

First Place: The Grower Circle – Homage

Second Place: hvst – Chocolate Grapes #4

Third Place: Enchanted Botanicals – Donny Burger

Sativa Flower

First Place: The Grower Circle – Trop Cherries

Second Place: Prohibition 37 – Tropical Runtz

Third Place: Seed Junky – Pineapple Fruz

Hybrid Flower

First Place: hvst – El Chivo #11

Second Place: Seed Junky – Purple Push Pop

Third Place: The Grower Circle – Oreo Cake

Non-Infused Pre-Rolls

First Place: The Grower Circle – Trop Cherries Pre-Roll

Second Place: Prohibition 37 – Red Runtz 51 Pre-Roll

Third Place: HoneyHole Cannabis Co. x Impact Farms – Lemon Hashplant Pre-Roll

Infused Pre-Rolls

First Place: Head Space x hvst – Purple Octane x Kush Mintz Hash Hole

Second Place: Mountaintop Extracts – Nuclear Sunset Infused Pre-Roll

Third Place: TWAX by The Clear – Lemon Haze Mini Infused Pre-Rolls

Solvent Concentrates

First Place: Herbal Edibles & Extracts – Orange Flambe Sauce & Diamonds

Second Place: Pharmers – Orange Soda Live Diamonds

Third Place: Mountaintop Extracts – Concord Clementine Caviar

Non-Solvent Concentrates

First Place: Sandia Botanicals – Olio Slurricane Solventless Rosin Cold Cure

Second Place: Nero – Golden Crisps Live Hash Rosin Cold Cure Badder

Third Place: Frozin – Grape Galette Fresh Frozen Rosin

Vape Pens

First Place: Elevated – Watermelon OG Cartridge

Second Place: O.Pen – Daily Strains Strawberry Cheesecake Vape

Third Place: Bloom – Classic Pineapple Express Disposable

Edibles: Gummies & Fruit Chews

First Place: Flight Bites – Sunset Punch Hash Rosin Gummies

Second Place: Derived – Sandia 1:1 Gummies

Third Place: Elevated – Strawberry Gummies

Edibles: Non-Gummies & Chocolates

First Place: Toasted – Honey I’m Stoned Infused Honey

Second Place: Elevated – Fruity Cereal Snack Bar

Third Place: Bhang – Ice Milk Chocolate Bar

Edibles: Topicals, Tinctures, Capsules, Sublinguals

First Place: Mountaintop Extracts – Wonder Bear Salve

Second Place: Dos Gringos Cannabis – Pain Relief Salve

Third Place: Synergy Extracts – Soothing Salve

A special thank you to our partners and sponsors!

Presented by: Elevated

Gold Sponsor: Enchanted Botanicals Cannabis

Gold Sponsor: Stash Box

Silver Sponsor: Fioré

General Sponsor: Bloom

General Sponsor: Dispopages

General Sponsor: Blown Glass Goods

Partner: The Hu$tle 101.3

Partner: Fusion Promotions

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A Montana judge has ordered state cannabis regulators to delay the enforcement of steep new fees for marijuana dispensary business licenses while a suit challenging the new fee structure is heard by the courts. The 60-day preliminary injunction was ordered by Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike Menahan, with the move agreed to by attorneys for the state and three cannabis businesses that filed the legal action in August.

The plaintiffs in the case are challenging new fees established by the Montana Department of Revenue’s Cannabis Control Division under a law passed by the state legislature earlier this year. Under the new fee schedule, business owners are required to pay a fee of $5,000 for the first dispensary, with the fee increasing by $5,000 for each additional dispensary license.

“This means a license’s initial dispensary fee is $5,000, its second dispensary renewal fee is $10,000, its third is $15,000, and so on,” Angela LeDuc, an attorney for the plaintiffs, wrote in court documents filed last month, as reported by the Independent Record.

The owners of the businesses that brought the suit—Granite Peak Holdings, Inc. doing business as Elevated; TSB Montana LLC, and MariMint LLC—say that if the new licensing fees were to go into effect, they would be forced to close several dispensary locations. Such a move would result in layoffs for the employees who work at the shuttered weed dispensaries and a lack of access to medical marijuana for patients, the plaintiffs argued. Elevated noted in court documents the license fees for 10 of its dispensaries would increase by 680%, from $50,000 to $280,000.

“Enforcement would require Plaintiffs to cease many of their business operations through the state; it jeopardizes their licensure with the state and would result in the loss of their interest in those licenses; it would cause the loss of hundreds of jobs and expose Plaintiffs to liability based on their inability to continue to honor their leasehold interest in those dispensaries and it would jeopardize the medical marijuana patrons that they serve,” attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote in their amended complaint, according to a report from the Daily Montanan.

State Attorneys Defend New Fees

Attorneys for the Montana Department of Justice and the lawyers for the plaintiffs have spent months arguing if the new fee structure is legal. Under state law, the Montana Department of Revenue is prohibited from collecting fees beyond the costs of regulating the cannabis industry. Attorneys for the plaintiffs say that the new fees are far more than the revenue department’s costs to regulate the marijuana program.

Attorneys for the state countered that because Montana is the fourth-largest state in the union by land mass, regulators need more funding to adequately regulate the state’s marijuana industry.

“All of this takes time and resources for which the taxpayers of Montana should not be on the hook,” the state argued in a brief opposing a preliminary injunction.

The state’s attorneys also argued that the plaintiffs’ claims of injury by the new fees should not be upheld by the court because the business owners can avoid the charges by simply operating only one dispensary. The argument also suggested that the legal action was filed purely over money.

“There exists one reason and one reason only that Plaintiffs seek to open different marijuana industry locations under the same license – they want to make money,” the state argued in an October 24 court filing. “Logic dictates that if a fee of $5,000.00 for a new location is going to make or break that location, then it is not a profitable location and should not be opened in the first place. Plaintiffs just want to make more money at the expense of the taxpayers.”

The plaintiffs are also challenging the new fees on procedural grounds, arguing that they were added to the bill without an opportunity for public comment after the legislation had been approved in committee. Other legal issues in the case revolve around separate legislation that changes the conditions for preliminary injunctions like the one issued by Menahan.

Last week, attorneys for both sides agreed to a 60-day preliminary injunction to pause enforcement of the fees while the lawsuit is litigated. Under the agreement, the new license fees will be put on hold for all licensees, not just the dispensaries owned by the plaintiffs.

Menahan’s order allows him to extend the injunction beyond its current 60 days if both sides agree to an extension. The order also reinstates the fee structure in place before the new hikes and directs the Department of Revenue to return any of the new fees already collected. 

Attorneys for both sides in the case told the judge they are negotiating and hope to reach a settlement in the next 60 days.

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The Land of Enchantment is about to get a lot more enchanting with this extra special announcement. The pandemic may have temporarily put a halt to in-person events and concerts, but High Times is extremely proud to announce that New Mexico will be the location of our first in-person People’s Choice Cannabis Cup celebration.

In March, we announced the arrival of our High Times Cannabis Cup New Mexico: People’s Choice Edition 2023. We typically hold digital award shows to celebrate each of our Cannabis Cup winners—but not this time. Not only is this the first High Times Cannabis Cup People’s Choice Edition to be held in New Mexico, but on Monday, September 4, it will also be the very first live and in-person awards event since the pandemic.

This event is co-produced by High Times, Fusion Promotions, and 101.3 The Hustle.

Join us for a thrilling in-person awards ceremony at the Rio Rancho Events Center and be the first to see which New Mexico cannabis products impressed the judges. Even better, we’re partnering up with Method Man and Redman to welcome in New Mexico’s first Cannabis Cup winners in our High Times Cannabis Cup Hall of Fame with a live performance as well.

To attend this monumental live event, those who purchase a New Mexico Cannabis Cup judge kit will receive a 30% discount on live show tickets (which can be applied to two tickets). 

Ticket presale dates have already begun, and end on Friday, June 23. In order to redeem the discount, attendees must call the Rio Rancho Event Center Box Office at (505) 891-7319, and provide the 14-digit code on the right side of the judge kit coupon. 

High Times Cannabis Cup New Mexico: People’s Choice Edition 2023 judge kits are available now through Aug. 20 while supplies last. Potential judges can seek out a judge kit at a variety of exclusive judge kit retailers, including Pecos Valley locations (also our intake partner), Enchanted Botanicals Cannabis, Urban Wellness, Higher Purpose Apothecary, Prohibition 37, Purlife, and Wheeed! but you can find plenty of details for each participating location at CannabisCup.com.

Our goal is put the spotlight on some of the best cannabis products available in the state of New Mexico. Our very own High Times VP of Events Mark Kazinec explained to local New Mexico news source KOB 4 that the Cannabis Cup is a celebration of cannabis for everyone. “Anybody from the OG growers who know how to talk about terpene profiles, to the soccer moms who are trading their glass of wine for a joint at the end of the night. We want their comments, their feedback,” Kazinec told KOB 4.

The High Times Cannabis Cup New Mexico: People’s Choice Edition 2023 is presented by Elevated, and supported by our Gold Sponsor: Enchanted Botanicals Cannabis, Silver Sponsor: Ghost., Bronze Sponsor: GH-Labs, and General Sponsor: Mountaintop Extracts (also named one of High Times’s 22 Best Brands of 2022).

2023 is gearing up to be a memorable year for the High Times Cannabis Cup People’s Choice Edition so far. 

In January we announced the return of the High Times Cannabis Cup Michigan: People’s Choice Edition, with winners set to be announced soon on July 9. This follows the Michigan People’s Choice Edition competition we held in 2021 and 2022. 

In March we also announced the return of the High Times Cannabis Cup SoCal: People’s Choice Edition with a digital awards stream set for July 24. In Southern California we’ve had a long and proud history of Cannabis Cups, three of which were People’s Choice Edition competitions in 2021 and 2022.

Finally and most recently in May, we announced the High Times Cannabis Cup Oregon: People’s Choice Edition 2023, with winners being announced later this year on Oct. 9. Check out what brands won at our previous People’s Choice Edition competitions in 2021.

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