The owner of the former Global Storage on Cerrillos Road wants to transform the building into an indoor cannabis greenhouse.

The owner of the former Global Storage on Cerrillos Road wants to transform the building into an indoor cannabis greenhouse.

An indoor greenhouse to cultivate 2,000 cannabis plants is planned for the former Global Storage structure at 3501 Cerrillos Road between Richards Avenue and Vegas Verdes Drive.

Property owner Sujay Kumar Thakur proposes converting the 7,034-square-foot structure where he has had his Global Storage since at least 2017 into an indoor marijuana growing operation “with retail use,” according to the Early Neighborhood Notification notice posted for the special use permit he is seeking.

The ENN meeting on Zoom starts at 5:30 p.m. Monday and can be viewed at bit.ly/3qFwz9B.

The cellphone meeting ID is 842 3460 2760 and the passcode is 765281. People can also join the meeting by cellphone at 253-215-8782, 84234602760# passcode 765281.

Thakur did not respond to phone or email messages from The New Mexican.

Thakur’s representative Jim Siebert will reveal the cannabis growing project at the ENN just days before marijuana sales for recreational use become legal in New Mexico on April 1.

The open question is, does the cannabis industry in New Mexico grow enough marijuana to meet the demand of medicinal and recreational users in the state?

The Cannabis Control Division at the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department told The New Mexican this week the supply is twice the amount needed to keep dispensaries stocked. Duke Rodriguez, CEO of New Mexico’s largest grower and seller of medicinal marijuana, Ultra Health, told The New Mexican he does not believe growers are growing nearly as much cannabis as the state thinks.

As the dominant cannabis player in the state, Ultra Health monitors the industry here.

“We would refer to that as a warehouse grow,” Ultra Health chief marketing officer Marissa Novel said about Thakur’s conversion of a mini-storage to a greenhouse. “From our experience, there are only two greenhouses in the state.”

She said the vast majority of indoor marijuana cultivation in New Mexico is warehouse grow. Novel said there are 30 legacy growers predating the state’s Cannabis Regulation Act from March 2021, with 45 producers newly licensed since then.

“There are at least 75 warehouse grows in the state,” she said.

The state has no limit on how many cannabis growing licenses can be issued.

New Mexico marijuana growers can grow up to 16,000 plants, separated by the state into four levels. Thakur would be at the top end of Level 1 at 2,000 plants.

Marijuana growing operations are usually out of town or tucked away in industrial areas. Thakur’s greenhouse will be on Santa Fe’s most prominent commercial street.

“I’m not aware of any that are on the main drag [in New Mexico cities],” Novel said.

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