Feb. 5—Ultra Health will close its south-side Cerrillos Road cannabis store at the end of the month, citing low business and high rent.

The state’s largest medical and recreational cannabis seller will be down to a single shop in Santa Fe, on St. Michael’s Drive. Ultra Health chose not to renew a five-year lease on the 3875 Cerrillos Road location that expires at the end of February, said President and CEO Duke Rodriguez.

“That location was the most expensive monthly rent at $8,000 in our entire system and the lowest revenue producer in our entire system,” Rodriguez said in an interview. “We are going to stick with one location in Santa Fe.”

Ultra Health has 38 locations across New Mexico, with seven shops in Albuquerque. Las Cruces and Sunland Park are the only other New Mexico cities with two Ultra Health outlets.

“In the last six months, we had two leases come up,” Rodriquez said. “Farmington was closed. The landlord didn’t want us.”

Ever since recreational cannabis became legal in New Mexico in April 2022, Rodriguez has sounded a clarion call that Santa Fe and New Mexico as a whole have far too many pot shops. He compares New Mexico with Colorado, which was one of the first two states to legalize recreational marijuana. Coloradocannabis.org reports more than 370 medical dispensaries and 670 recreational stores in that state, while New Mexico has 1,050 licensed retailers, the New Mexico Cannabis Control Division reports. Santa Fe alone has about 50.

“That would be density at approximately 63 dispensaries per 100,000 as compared to Colorado statewide at 12 per 100,000 population,” Rodriguez said. “Santa Fe is five times the density of Colorado. We are at a level in Santa Fe that can only point to one thing: huge crash!”

Rodriguez maintains Santa Fe should be able to support no more than eight to 10 cannabis shops — fewer than the dozen medicinal cannabis shops operating in Santa Fe before recreational cannabis became legal.

“We have been offered to purchase at least five dispensaries in Santa Fe, and we have declined them all,” Rodriguez said.