ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., June 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ultra Health, New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company, has officially broken ground on multiple capital expansion projects in New Mexico to ready the state for the onset of commercial cannabis activity under the Cannabis Regulation Act, effective June 29, 2021.

The provider has multiple contracts in place to expand retail, production, manufacturing, and distribution operations to several regions across the Land of Enchantment, including operations in Bernalillo County, Sandoval County, Socorro County, and Otero County. Ultra Health’s retail presence will span 28 of New Mexico’s 33 counties by the end of 2021.

The expansion projects will total more than $20 million funded exclusively by Ultra Health’s working capital cash reserves.

The biggest expansion project is a newly contracted, 28-acre parcel and 225,000 square foot building in Southern New Mexico. The recently renovated building boasts ample space for production, warehousing, R&D, maintenance, and office space. Other features include temperature-controlled processing rooms, designated warehouses for raw materials and finished goods, ceiling heights up to 24 feet, and water filtration systems.

Another infrastructure project was initiated earlier this past week with the purchase of a 50,000 square foot distribution building just one hour south of Albuquerque. The space is intended to help distribute cannabis to Southern and Southeastern New Mexico, where demand is projected to be greater than other areas of the state.

Along with the additional facilities, Ultra Health is expanding its outdoor cultivation capacity with the acquisition of 150 acres of additional farmland and more than 750 acres of water feet in Tularosa, New Mexico. The operator purchased an initial 200 acres of farmland and 1,000 acre feet of water in the same area in early 2018.

“There is no question that the greatest lift the state and operators will need to accomplish is putting enough plants in the ground to meet demand for both medical purchasers and adult-use consumers,” said Duke Rodriguez, CEO and President of Ultra Health®. “However, the unforeseen obstacle is the undeniable and impending bottleneck that is post-harvest processing, logistics and management. It takes more than just a greenhouse and a retail network to run a successful operation. Licensees will need to deploy substantial energy and capital to ensure the proper handling of cannabis products from seed to sale, which includes a level of physical infrastructure the state and the entire industry has yet to see or fully appreciate.”

Between all of its operations, Ultra Health has more than 15.8 million square feet of retail, production and cultivation space and has already invested more than $30 million into the New Mexico cannabis market. Ultra Health’s 2020 expansion efforts exceeded $12 million including constructing a new, state-of-the-art, 35,000 square foot greenhouse on its Bernalillo campus as well as the purchase of HQ1, a 35,000 square foot commercial building in Albuquerque that will serve as the organization’s New Mexico headquarters.

The provider currently employs nearly 300 New Mexicans and plans to hire several hundred more employees to satisfy retail, cultivation, packaging, distribution and professional services required to support both increased medical patient and adult-use demand for commercial cannabis activity.

Ultra Health plans to open 20 new dispensaries in the next 12 months with more than 15 retail spaces already under contract. Ultra Health will have 50 operational dispensaries before fall 2022.

Ultra Health is New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company and the largest minority-owned cannabis company in the United States. The vertically-integrated provider currently operates 25 dispensary locations statewide, with another 10 stores slated to open by the third quarter of 2021. Ultra Health provides unparalleled medical cannabis care by producing accurately dosed, smokeless cannabis products such as sublingual tablets, oils, pastilles, suppositories and more through its partnership with Israeli pharmaceutical group Panaxia. Ultra Health has been at the forefront of patient-rights issues and continues to fight for adequate supply and rural access in the New Mexico cannabis market.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b8a974f3-245c-4730-a624-2ceb97d658d3