Marijuana is just one of many issues in which the government is so far behind the people, it's beyond funny. The Drug Enforcement Administration proved this again just last week when it announced that after weeks of reviewing a petition to reclassify marijuana so it's no longer a Schedule 1 drug, along with heroin, Quaaludes and various psychedelics. Some who follow this issue were optimistic that the DEA might might actually reverse its long-held ironclad Reefer Madness policy. Perhaps the DEA would would reclassify marijuana as a Schedule 2 drug - along with cocaine and methamphetamine - or even lower. [continues 630 words]
One of the last singles by the late Merle Haggard was a fun little tune he sang with his old crony, Willie Nelson, and younger country star, Jamey Johnson, called "It's All Going to Pot." With obvious glee radiating from their weathered voices, Hag and his pals sang, "It's all going to pot / Whether we like it or not. ..." Yep, it looks like they do smoke marijuana in Muskogee after all. Willie's been a leading advocate for marijuana legalization for decades now, but some who heard that song (released on April 20, 2015 . 4-20, get it, get it?) were surprised to hear Merle singing it. After all, he first rose to national fame in the late '60s when "Okie from Muskogee" captured the hearts of President Richard Nixon's Silent Majority and was hailed as a troubadour of the right. Those who have actually followed his career realize that Haggard's stance on drugs softened not long after that hit and that his politics were all over the place (one of several reasons I loved him so much). [continues 488 words]
Right after last November's general election, in this very column, I made the contention that marijuana was more popular than either gubernatorial candidate - Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and Democrat Gary King - at least in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. I made that claim based on the number of votes that (nonbinding) marijuana-decriminalization initiatives received in Santa Fe and Bernalillo counties. In both counties, the pro-marijuana position got more votes than either of the candidates. But Martinez and King shouldn't feel bad. As The Washington Post's Wonkblog pointed out last month, recent polls in large swing states show that marijuana is more popular among voters than any of the 2016 candidates for president. [continues 564 words]
Budget Bill Sent to Obama Calls for Backing off State-Run Programs For the first time ever, Congress has gone on record opposing federal intervention against state-sanctioned marijuana businesses in states like New Mexico that have medical marijuana programs. The federal budget bill passed recently by Congress includes a short provision that says "None of the funds made available in this Act to the Department of Justice may be used ... to prevent such states from implementing their own state laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana." [continues 611 words]
A freshman Republican has introduced a bill that would repeal the state's medical marijuana law. "I'm a high school teacher and I have a very close tie to the children, our most vulnerable citizens," said Rep, Jim Smith, R-Sandia Park when asked Monday why he introduced House Bill 593. "I'm just concerned that they're getting the wrong message from this (law) that marijuana is actually good for you because it has a purported medicinal use. ... it has real potential for abuse." [continues 401 words]
An organization that lobbied the New Mexico Legislature for years to get a medical marijuana program started is running an emotional ad against Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez. The 30-second TV spot features program participants pleading "Don't take away my medicine." Martinez, the district attorney in Dona Ana County, has said she would try to repeal the medical program, which was passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Bill Richardson in 2007. Her Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, has said she favors keeping the program. [continues 434 words]
Gov. Bill Richardson lashed out at the Bush administration on Thursday over this week's arrest of a wheelchair-bound Eddy County man who was certified by the state Health Department to possess and smoke marijuana for medical reasons. The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, a multiagency law enforcement group in Southern New Mexico, raided the Malaga, N.M., home of Leonard French, who is one of 38 patients approved to participate in the state medical-marijuana program. The program started in July after a new state law went into effect. Officers seized several marijuana plants. [continues 439 words]
Senate Passes Resurrected Bill, Which Now Heads to the House The state Senate on Saturday resurrected the medical marijuana issue, passing a new bill allowing people suffering certain serious medical conditions to smoke cannabis to treat their symptoms. The action came two days after the House voted 37-32 to defeat the original bill (Senate Bill 238). But on Saturday, the Senate voted 32-3 to pass Senate Bill 523, which now goes to the House. Gov. Bill Richardson told The Associated Press on Friday that he had talked to several Democrats who had voted against that bill in an effort to get them to change their minds. He also said he planned to talk with House Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Nambe. Lujan is a Richardson ally but an opponent of medical marijuana. [continues 246 words]
An overwhelming majority of New Mexicans support the idea of allowing people with serious medical conditions to smoke marijuana to ease symptoms, according to a poll commissioned by a drug-reform group lobbying for a medical marijuana bill in the Legislature. The poll, conducted by the SJC Research of Washington, D.C., also showed that a plurality of voters would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supported medical marijuana while a third would not be affected by a candidate's stance on the issue. [continues 444 words]
New Mexico's use of jails run by companies is the highest in the country -- and rising -- but do they live up to their promises? New Mexico leads the nation on another list: We're No. 1 in using private prisons to house inmates. The latest U.S. Justice Department statistics, published in a study called Prisons in 2005, showed 43 percent of New Mexico prisoners were in private lockups. That's well ahead of the 6 percent national rate for privately held state prison inmates. And the percentage in New Mexico is bound to rise even higher in the near future. [continues 1270 words]
The founder of a New York based anti-drug group came to the Capitol on Friday to persuade legislators to vote against a bill that would make marijuana legal for patients suffering from some serious medical conditions. Steven Steiner of Dads and Moms Against Drug Dealers said that passage of SB258 -- which is scheduled to be considered today by the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee -- would lead to more drug abuse in the state. Ironically, Steiner's group is partly funded by the company that makes the drug that killed his teenage son. [continues 352 words]
By an overwhelming majority, the state Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would allow sufferers of serious medical conditions to smoke marijuana without fear of prosecution. Strong majorities of both political parties contributed to the 34-6 passage of SB258, sponsored by Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque. "I think it's wonderful," said Essie DeBonet, an Albuquerque AIDS sufferer who has lobbied for the bill the past two sessions. "The Senate showed their concerns for people." Although an assistant to the White House drug czar flew to New Mexico to testify against the bill last week, 12 of the Senate's 18 Republicans voted for it. [continues 757 words]
The Bush administration got involved in New Mexico's medical marijuana issue Friday, sending a top drug-policy administrator to testify against SB158. But David W. Murray, a special assistant to national drug czar John Walters, had little or no effect on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which gave the measure a do-pass with bipartisan support. And some senators said Murray's presentation was heavy-handed . Murray told the committee that marijuana is an addictive substance with very serious health consequences , has no proven medical value and can lead to "serious mental illness ," depression and suicide. [continues 542 words]
A bill that would legalize medical marijuana cleared its first hurdle Tuesday, getting a unanimous, bipartisan "do-pass" recommendation from the Senate Public Affairs Committee. Senate Bill 258 would allow patients with debilitating medical conditions, including cancer and AIDS, to use marijuana to treat their symptoms -- and in some cases the side effects of treatment for those diseases. The state Department of Health would administer a program under which doctors would be allowed to recommend marijuana for their patients. The marijuana used in the program would be grown in a secure facility by the state or a private agency contracting with the state. [continues 290 words]
In an unforeseen move, Gov. Bill Richardson on Wednesday night said he will include a medical-marijuana bill on his agenda this legislative session. The governor's decision surprised drug-law-reform advocates, who had been disheartened by Richardson's statement earlier this week that there wouldn't be enough time in an already packed 30-day session to take on the measure. House Speaker Ben Lujan, DNambe, said before the session started that he had asked Richardson not to include medical marijuana on his call, saying there wasn't enough time. [continues 303 words]
A bill that would legalize marijuana to treat certain medical conditions has stalled on the floor of the House of Representatives because of a dispute involving an unrelated bill dealing with developer impact fees in Albuquerque. Rep. Dan Silva told a reporter Wednesday that because of his difficulty in getting his House Bill 805 heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee, he's worked behind the scenes to delay action on the medical-marijuana bill, Senate Bill 795. That bill is sponsored by Sen. Cisco McSorley, who is chairman of the Judicial Committee. [continues 701 words]
A Republican supporter of a bill that would allow sufferers of certain serious diseases to use marijuana made a last-minute - -- literally -- attempt to pass the bill that sat for days on the House calendar as a result of a political dispute over an unrelated bill. Though the move was unexpected, it wouldn't have been impossible to push the bill through. In the closing minutes of the session -- which, according to the state constitution, ended at noon -- the House took action on several bills. [continues 339 words]
Not one, not two, but three bills that would set up state programs to provide marijuana to patients suffering from certain serious medical conditions won overwhelming bipartisan approval from the state Senate on Wednesday. If any of the bills makes it through the House and is signed by the governor, patients suffering conditions such as cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, certain spinal-cord damage, epilepsy and HIV-AIDS would be able to use marijuana supplied by the state Health Department. A spokesman for Gov. Bill Richardson issued a statement that said: "For people who are living in a tremendous amount of pain as a result of life-threatening diseases, this is a treatment that they should be allowed to have." [continues 554 words]
Erin Armstrong, a 23-year-old woman from Santa Fe who is a cancer survivor, dreads the day she gets taken off her parents' insurance plan. After that, the medication she takes for nausea will cost her $3,000 a month. That's why she is asking state lawmakers to pass a medical-marijuana bill. Sen. Cisco McSorley, D. Albuquerque, told reporters Monday that he will sponsor a bill in which the state Health Department would oversee a program to legally provide marijuana to sufferers of specific medical conditions. [continues 612 words]
Although the state House of Representatives passed a medical-marijuana bill two years ago, the House overwhelmingly rejected a similar bill Thursday. A majority of Democrats and a huge majority of Republicans defeated House Bill 242 with a 46-20 vote Thursday. The House vote effectively killed the bill, since no similar measure is before the Senate. The mother of a 26-year-old cancer patient who died last year was angered by the vote. "These people who voted against it, I just pray that they never find out what they've done," said Vicki Plevin of Albuquerque, who is working as an unpaid lobbyist on an unrelated issue. [continues 660 words]
