CCD Issues Embargo On Quantum Labs NM, LLC
New Mexicos industry has seen everything from recalls due to fraudulent test results, to illegal farms leading to potential life sentences. Each scenario has led to notices and summons for those involved to reconcile. But now a new scenario has arouse; what happens when a license holder passes away?
Quantum Labs
On December 24, 2025, the New Mexico CCD issued Embargo Order 2025-001 against Quantum Laboratory NM, LLC, based in Albuquerque. The company’s sole owner Nick Montoya passed away in July of 2025. By August, the manufacturing license expired. That left behind over 800 pounds of material now flagged as illicit and locked under state embargo
Sol Naciente
This wasn’t Montoya’s first run-in with headlines. Back in 2015, he was at the center of a butane extraction explosion at New Mexicann Natural Medicine in Santa Fe. The blast—triggered by a puddle of ignited butane—blew the roof off the building and left Montoya with third-degree burns and cognitive injuries. The lawsuit filed afterward claimed he was extracting without proper training, clearances, or safety protocols.
Contact
The state also cast a wide net. Notices were sent not just to the company, but to other operators, landlords, registered agents, and even the estate and family of the deceased owner. That tells you something important: when regulated product loses its legal steward, everyone nearby suddenly becomes part of the story, whether they want to be or not.
This embargo isn’t punishment—It’s a pause. The state now decides the ending. Best case, some material is released if a lawful pathway is established. Worst case, the court orders condemnation and destruction, and the entire stash goes up in smoke under government supervision.
