- Adults in New Mexico will soon be able to own and grow marijuana.
- The state legalized recreational cannabis use this year, and retail sales will begin by April 2022.
- “We are going to start redressing the injustices of this country’s failed war on drugs,” said Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
Starting this summer, New Mexicans 21 and older can own and grow marijuana. The state on Monday became the latest to legalize cannabis recreation – with retail sales starting in 2022.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat who convened a special session of the legislature in March to reform the state’s drug laws, has signed a legislative bill. She also put her signature on a joint bill that would give many people with the marijuana belief a clean record.
Lujan-Grisham said in a statement: “We are going to start redressing the injustices of the failed war on drugs in this country.” And we are going to break new ground in an industry that could potentially improve the economic future of New Mexico. good can change. “
One of the country’s poorest states, a legal cannabis industry, could generate a market of $ 318 million and more than 11,000 jobs, according to an economic analysis by the governor.
Although the political scene in New Mexico has long been dominated by Democrats, the state has struggled for years to continue legalizing marijuana, with reform efforts thwarted by more conservative members of the party. In 2020, however, several of the Conservative Democrats lost the primary races to more progressive challengers who won in November and moved the Senate to the left.
While marijuana will become legal on June 29, New Mexico residents will have to grow their own for a time (according to the new law, up to six plants may be allowed each). This is because the state must first develop a regulatory infrastructure and adequate commercial supply before retail sales are allowed, which could start as early as April 2022.
The benefit to marijuana consumers is that local governments, unlike California and some other states that have legalized cannabis, will not be able to ban sales within their jurisdiction, reports the Albuquerque Journal. And anyone whose criminal record in the past would now be legal or lead to a lower sentence’s criminal record is automatically removed, according to the Las Cruces Sun News.
Although New Mexico is known for its libertarian streak, Republicans are dissatisfied with the state.
“Recreational marijuana is hardly an urgent matter,” the GOP of New Mexico said in a statement on Monday, arguing that cannabis legalization “will lead to more crime, underage use and weakened governance.”
In fact, surveys have found that the use of marijuana by young people is the same, or declining in countries that legalize its use for recreation. Studies have also failed to find a clear link between road safety and the legal status of cannabis. And researchers have found little or no impact on crime.
Sixteen states and the District of Colombia have now legalized recreational marijuana. Colorado, in 2012, was the first.
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