A New Mexico House committee on Monday approved a comprehensive marijuana legislative bill.
The legislation of Representative Javier Martinez (D) is one of the many legislative proposals introduced in the 2021 session. Another reform bill sponsored by Representative Tara Lujan (D) was also considered by the Health and Human Services Committee on Monday, but was rejected.
The panel issued a do-pass recommendation for Martinez’s bill in a 7-4 vote to advance it to additional committees before it could possibly vote for a full floor. The Lujan legislation was tabled by 7-4 votes.
Under the approved measure, adults 21 years and older are allowed to own “at least” two ounces of marijuana and grow up to six mature and six immature plants for personal use. It would also create a system of regulated and taxed cannabis sales.
The legislation is preferred by reform advocates because, unlike the other House and Senate measures, it would use tax revenues from marijuana sales specifically to support reinvestment in communities most affected by the war on drugs. It also falls on the inclusion of provisions to automatically remove previous convictions for cannabis.
Martinez’s proposal requires that the market rules be implemented by January 2022. Existing medical marijuana pharmacies will meanwhile be allowed to sell adults in October.
The committee held a hearing on both House Accounts on Saturday, but the meeting lasted a long time and members therefore did not vote to promote it. They did adopt a replacement version of the Martinez proposal during the initial meeting.
A provision requiring people to be able to prove that marijuana they own was purchased from a legal source has been deleted. Members also have a provision restricting the sale of accessories to licensed pharmacies.
Furthermore, the revised committee-approved bill will also ensure that tribal governments can participate in the new industry. It will also allow small businesses that obtain so-called micro-business licenses to start working ahead of larger businesses to give them an edge.
NOW: HB 12 – Cannabis Regulation Act gets a do pass from the Home Health and Human Services Committee. #nmleg #nmpol pic.twitter.com/10Brm3xZbr
– NM House Democrats (@NMHouseDems) 15 February 2021
During Monday’s meeting, lawmakers discussed additional amendments, but there was agreement that it would be better discussed later, either in separate committees or on the floor.
The separate house-law bill passed by the committee is narrower in scope compared to Martinez’s legislation. It will create a system of regulated, commercial cannabis sales and impose a 20% tax on marijuana products, the proceeds of which will be used to fund state and local governments.
Lujan’s bill does not contain the removal and social equity measures that HB 12 has, and would only prohibit the construction of houses. Growing up to three plants would carry a $ 500 fine, and anything more than that would remain an offense. The proposal would limit the number of commercial production licenses that could be issued, which is another difference compared to the Martinez bill, which would prevent the state from imposing such restrictions.
The language from Lujan’s bill is identical to separate legislation sponsored by Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto (D) that was tabled earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Senator Cliff Pirtle (R), who introduced a legislative bill in 2019 that would establish a state-owned market, also recently issued a reform proposal that would create a private commercial industry. It allows adults 21 years and older to buy and own up to two ounces of marijuana.
A third Senate legislative proposal, sponsored by Senator Jacob Candelaria (D), is similar to Martinez’s bill. All three have been referred to the Senate Tax, Business and Transport Committee, but hearings have not yet been scheduled.
Martinez’s bill then goes to the House Tax and Income Committee, of which he is chairman.
# HB12 is underway! Join us as we work on a legal framework for cannabis that is smart, compassionate and fair. #nmleg # @ARomero_NM @DPANewMexico @NMHouseDems https://t.co/hpreoUGg9X
– Rep. Javier Martinez (@JavierForNM) 14 February 2021
Government Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), in turn, has repeatedly spoken out about the need to legalize as a means of boosting the economy, especially amid the coronavirus pandemic. She said during a state of the nation address this month: “A crisis like the one we experienced last year can be seen as a loss or as an invitation to reconsider the status quo – to be ambitious and creative and brave. ‘
The governor also included cannabis legalization as part of her 2021 legislative agenda she unveiled last month and said in a recent interview that she ‘is still really optimistic about cannabis’.
The optimism is reinforced by the fact that several democratizations against legalization, including the presidential problem of the Senate and the chairman of the Finance Committee, were driven out by progressive primary challengers last year.
Additional pressure to end the cannabis ban this year comes from neighboring Arizona, where voters approved the bill in November and where sales were officially launched last week.
New Mexico shares another border with Colorado, one of the first states to use it for adults. Cannabis is also expected to be legalized across the southern border in Mexico, and lawmakers have a mandate from the Supreme Court to end the ban by April.
Last year, an adult cannabis legalization bill passed one New Mexico Senate committee to reject another just before the end of the 30-day session.
Earlier, in 2019, the House passed a legislative bill that included provisions to place marijuana sales mostly in state-owned stores, but it died in the Senate. Later that year, Lujan Grisham created a working group to study cannabis legalization and issue recommendations.
Polls indicate that voters are ready for the policy change. A survey released in October found that a strong majority of New Mexico residents are in favor of legalization, with provision for social equity, and about half support the decriminalization of drug possession more widely.
Last May, the governor indicated she was considering actively fighting lawmakers who blocked her 2020 legislative bill. her desk.
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Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.
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