Martinez Directs Change, Says Confidentiality No Longer Needed SANTA FE - The names of New Mexico medical marijuana dispensaries and their employees will soon be made public, under a directive announced Wednesday by the office of Gov. Susana Martinez. The Republican governor's decision will reverse a long-standing confidentiality provision in the state's Medical Cannabis Program and comes less than a week after a lawsuit was filed in an attempt to strike down the regulation that allows for the names of medical marijuana producers to be kept secret. [continues 396 words]
Backers of Proposal Vow to Keep Trying SANTA FE - New Mexico appears unlikely - at least for now - to join four other Western states that have legalized recreational marijuana use, after a House committee on Friday voted down a proposal to regulate and tax the drug. Members of the House Agriculture, Water and Wildlife Committee tabled the pot proposal on a 7-1 vote, making its passage highly unlikely during the 60-day session that ends March 21. Opponents of the measure said legalizing marijuana use could pose a public safety threat and lead to more impaired employees on New Mexico work sites. [continues 401 words]
Secretary of State, NM High Court, 2 Counties Involved SANTA FE - New Mexico's politically charged debate over marijuana decriminalization intensified Tuesday with two counties, the secretary of state and the state Supreme Court embroiled in legal questions over November ballots. And the governor had something to say, too. Santa Fe County joined Bernalillo County in challenging Secretary of State Dianna Duran's decision to not allow advisory questions on the Nov. 4 ballot. Duran's office, meanwhile, said she would go to federal court to challenge the state Supreme Court for holding up the mailing of ballots to certain overseas voters. [continues 869 words]
Medical Marijuana Changes Considered SANTA FE - The New Mexico Department of Health should take its time before implementing proposed rule changes to the state's medical marijuana program, a state-appointed hearing officer has recommended. Many of the proposals, which include changes in fees, testing and plant limits, have come under fire since being unveiled by the agency earlier this year. In a July 25 report, hearing officer Susan Hapka recommended the Health Department hold a second public hearing on the medical pot proposals and wait until an advisory board meets later this month before deciding whether to adopt them. [continues 281 words]
Patient Background Checks for Growing, New Limit on Plants Both Shelved SANTA FE - A New Mexico state agency is backing away from some of its proposed changes to the state's medical marijuana program after those plans came under fire from licensed medical pot producers and users. A top-ranking Department of Health official told lawmakers Thursday that the agency will withdraw two proposals - criminal background checks for patients approved to grow their own medical marijuana and a reduction in pot plants for personal consumption. Currently, patients can grow up to four plants and 12 seedlings, and the proposed change would have allowed two plants and six seedlings. [continues 432 words]
Producers, Patients Testify Program Would Be Crippled SANTA FE - Patients and producers in New Mexico's 7- year-old medical marijuana program lined up Monday to criticize - in sometimes heated tones - new fees and other proposed program changes. About 500 people took turns packing a Department of Health auditorium for a public hearing on the proposed rule changes, some holding signs emblazoned with messages like "Being sick is not a crime." About 175 testified. Producers and patients, many of whom described themselves as military veterans, said the proposed changes would cripple the medical marijuana program by making it more difficult to obtain medical pot. [continues 350 words]
Petition Drives for Referendums Launched in Duke City, Santa Fe SANTA FE - Voters in Albuquerque and Santa Fe could decide whether to reduce criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana if separate petition drives launched Tuesday succeed in the two New Mexico cities. The voter initiative process, which requires supporters to obtain a large number of signatures, is a new approach in the debate over marijuana policy. Legislative proposals to both reduce criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of pot and to legalize recreational use of the drug have failed during the last two years at the state Capitol, a fact not lost on backers. [continues 394 words]
Health Department Wants to Ease Rules SANTA FE - The state agency that runs New Mexico's medical marijuana program wants to bring more licensed producers on board and relax restrictions on how many pot plants can be grown after a survey that found the program was struggling to supply a growing number of certified patients. If approved, the Department of Health's proposals would likely take effect later this year. They would be the first rule changes to the medical marijuana program since 2010. [continues 619 words]
Senate Committee Blocks Amendment SANTA FE - A proposal that would have allowed New Mexico voters to decide whether to legalize and regulate marijuana was blocked Tuesday in a Senate committee, though the measure's sponsor vowed to bring it back again next year. "We'll just keep trying it until it happens," Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, told reporters. "I think it's inevitable." The proposed constitutional amendment, modeled after a new law in Colorado, was stymied on a 5-5 vote in the Senate Rules Committee. The vote likely left the measure deadlocked for the rest of this year's 30-day session, Ortiz y Pino said. [continues 361 words]
Measure Ends Jail Time For Having Small Amounts SANTA FE - A pair of measures aimed at scaling back New Mexico's marijuana laws hit the Legislature on Thursday, promising to light up an old debate. Gov. Susana Martinez, a former prosecutor, expressed immediate opposition to the proposals, claiming jail time for possessing small amounts of marijuana is typically only ordered for people with lengthy criminal records. One of the measures introduced Thursday would reduce the penalties individuals could face for having small amounts of marijuana, including eliminating the possibility of jail time for such violations. [continues 566 words]
BOISE - The so-called "meth moms" bill that could lead to pregnant drug users serving jail time in Idaho squeaked through the Senate Tuesday by a mere two votes. Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo, the bill's sponsor, acknowledged treatment programs would be a preferable alternative to law enforcement intervention, but said under the state's current landscape meth babies are being born with increasing frequency. "Shouldn't it be a crime for a mother to induce those chemicals into her baby?" he asked during his closing argument. [continues 399 words]
BOISE - The fight to curb Idaho's meth problem stepped into uncharted territory Wednesday: The wombs of pregnant mothers. A proposal that would make it a felony offense for a pregnant woman to take certain drugs passed a legislative committee despite the concerns of pediatricians who fear the get-tough measure could lead to more abortions and less pre-natal care. But proponents of the effort to crack down on meth use in Idaho say the current system fails to address mothers who put their unborn children at high risk through their own illicit behavior. [continues 408 words]
Ground-Breaking Program Seen As State's 'Ray Of Hope' BOISE - When it comes to the effect of drugs on Idaho communities, Randy Smith realizes the numbers don't tell the whole story. But the story they do tell is striking - from 1997 to 2004 the number of people sent to prison for drug crimes in Idaho has risen from 861 to 1,474. That's just the beginning, said Smith, a Sixth District judge in Pocatello. "About 90 percent of our caseload would evaporate if this problem wasn't here," he said while identifying burglary, bad checks and rape as among the various manifestations of drug abuse. [continues 474 words]
