$3,200,258 has been wired to Las Cruces. Where is it going?
Every month, New Mexico distributes a third of the cannabis excise tax collected inside each city back to that city’s government — unrestricted, straight into the general fund. These are the state’s own records of what Las Cruces (city) has received: rank #5 of 93 NM local governments · $29 per resident · $157.5M in local cannabis sales since 2022. What it gets spent on is decided in this town’s chambers — which is why this page lives in its Town Square.
The last twelve checks
| Distribution month | Amount |
|---|---|
| 2026-06 | $54,360 |
| 2026-05 | $62,028 |
| 2026-04 | $66,459 |
| 2026-03 | $71,902 |
| 2026-02 | $72,209 |
| 2026-01 | $55,662 |
| 2025-12 | $71,642 |
| 2025-11 | $65,028 |
| 2025-10 | $42,783 |
| 2025-09 | $48,550 |
| 2025-08 | $46,510 |
| 2025-07 | $49,943 |
Source: NM Taxation & Revenue, monthly CAN Distribution Detail by Location — the state’s ledger of actual payments, not an estimate. Statewide, $59.1M has gone to local governments since sales began.
The fund story — the promise vs. the ledger
Las Cruces leaders pitched this money as community money — substance abuse and mental health (the mayor, 2022), quality of life, an equity lens. Community options were floated on the record: expungement help, the Telshor Fund, workforce training. By March 2024 city staff had pivoted to redevelopment districts and a police Real-Time Crime Center, possible because every dollar sits unrestricted in the general fund.
| City has publicly reported, ever | ≈$1.5M (as of Mar 2024 — nothing since) |
| State records show actually wired | $3,200,258 |
| Yesca’s statute-based estimate | $4,262,102 |
| All-time Las Cruces cannabis sales | $157.5M |
| Cannabis businesses registered with the city | 168 |
| Council/commission meetings discussing cannabis (mined) | 145 meetings · 2,126 moments |
The deep tools live on the static portal: The Record (every cannabis mention in the meeting archive, with video links) · the Instrument Panel (ten gauges) · the dispensary directory · the social-equity record.
Do something with it
See Las Cruces on the state money map →
Find this government’s meetings →
The national framework — every state’s rules →
Ask one question at the next meeting: “Where did our $3.2M in cannabis money go?” If the answer is “the general fund,” ask what it bought.