Zeke Shortes walks into a small building in Albuquerque on Tuesday, leading to a room that up until last month housed a Sacred Garden dispensary.
The glass cases that displayed cannabis products were empty. Customers and workers are nowhere to be seen.
Soon, other Sacred Garden stores will follow suit. The company, which has dispensaries across the state, is shutting down after more than a decade in business. Sacred Garden — one of nearly three dozen legacy operators that got their start in the medical marijuana program — is not alone in feeling the pain.
Ultra Health, once the king of cannabis in New Mexico, has downsized the number of stores by close to 20% over the past year. And Minerva Canna, which has been in operation for more than a decade like Sacred Garden, is also closing its business next month.
Read more on AOL.