Cannabis Issue

phen Aarons takes care of the books and any licensing issues that come up when he’s not running his criminal defense practice.

The elder Aarons says he’s always considering how many dispensaries Santa Fe can support.

“I looked at the market, it looks like 50% die within the first four years and 70% within the first seven years, if you look at Colorado, California and Oregon, where it’s been around for a while,” he says. “So how do you make sure you’re part of the 30% that don’t?”

So far, Endo has operated as a retailonly operation, meaning everything the company sells was grown or manufactured by another company. But, Ian Aarons says he’s already got a plan that he hopes will separate Endo from other shops: Sell weed that no one else has. Endo’s production license allows Ian to tend to his crops in the early stages of growth. He says he’s sourced unique cultivars that aren’t easy to find, including one that produces what he describes as “devilish” looking and “the blackest weed” he’s ever seen.

“There’s a lot of these up-andcoming strains that you might know in three years or so,” he says. “But I’ve just kind of dug my roots in with some of these guys all across the nation to try and get some newer stuff.”

A short walk north up Agua Fría from Endo’s spot at the Siler Road bridge sits an industrial park with High Class Cannabis tucked away behind an auto repair shop. Brothers Justin and Joshua Garcia opened their retail shop in July 2022, after nearly a decade of owning and running a Southside vape shop. Justin Garcia says he’s confident High Class can withstand the flood of licenses by finding a niche in the market.

“In an industry like this, there’s lanes to be found,” he says.

One of those lanes for High Class is selling clones (aka plants that are ready to grow), thanks to an exclusive deal with local grower 505 Clones, a company owned by Jerome Baca and Joey Jacques, who own the growing supply store Urban Rebel Farms.

The Garcia Brothers are also trying to make a name for themselves with additional products.

“We really enjoy the concentrates in particular,” Justin Garcia says. “So we really want to put our foot in that area.”

He says he’s used to competition, considering how ubiquitous vape shops are in Santa Fe.

“In the vape industry for instance, there’s so many different products going around that it’s hard for everybody to have the same products,” he notes.

The families behind Green Fuego, Endo and High Class all seem to be following advice on how to make it in the industry from the younger Goodman over at Best Daze, whether they know it or not.

Eli Goodman says new operators in the Santa Fe dispensary endurance race should take small steps to carve out “scalable” space in the industry instead of trying to go toe-to-toe with out-of-state or even local giants that found their strides years ago.

“Start in a smaller range of what you want to achieve, with the ability to scale it up,” he says. “But I would not recommend trying to dive in as top dog. Try to find a niche.”

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