He might be ready… but is Albuquerque? After a burglary at one of his Albuquerque stores in December, it took police five hours to arrive. That sparked concerns about whether police are ready to open dozens more pharmacies in a few months.
“Not that I’m waving a red flag to encourage theft or whatever, but we have to be aware that there are going to be serious security issues and that’s going to happen across the state in small towns like Lordsburg and in big cities like Albuquerque there is a lot of money in circulation. ‘ said Rodriguez.
He wants his employees, patients and new customers to feel safe from day one.
“If you come here it will be safe, if you leave here it will be safe,” Rodriguez said. “However, this will require the support of the mayor, city council and especially law enforcement agencies.”
He brought the question directly to the city’s leadership during a Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce luncheon in early January.
“Soon there will probably be twenty, thirty new pharmacies in Albuquerque alone. Is the city ready for that?” Rodriguez asked.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said it was important for the cannabis industry to support the metro crime initiative.
“How can you help us to react faster? It’s right here,” Mayor Keller said, holding up a pamphlet outlining the subway crime initiative. “Support everything in here.
Police Chief Harold Medina proposed monthly meetings with industry leaders.
“There are crime prevention ideas that we could give,” Chief Medina said. “There’s advice we could give about how stores are designed, there’s a lot of different things we could bring to the table so you can help protect yourselves too.”
Rodriguez hopes ideas will soon be put into practice – before it’s too late.
“It has to be on their radar and if it’s not I’m scared of what a painful transition this could be,” he said. “We can no longer avoid it.”
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