New Mexico decriminalizes cannabis possession and use

Last month, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, had on his desk A proposal to decriminalize cannabis was approved by the state legislature. The proposal called for replacing criminal penalties for the possession of cannabis and paraphernalia related to its use with civil penalties. The governor signed the bill last week, and the law is set to take effect on July 1. For amounts up to 14 grams, cannabis users will only be subject to a fine of 50$.

New Mexico and Reform

This reform has been welcomed by advocates of legalization, who nevertheless regret that it is too timid. «New Mexico has just taken an important step toward more humane cannabis policies. It will no longer treat cannabis users as criminals or threaten them with incarceration for simple possession, but it’s a shame that only part of the war on cannabis is coming to an end this year in New Mexico,» says Karen O’Keefe, NM policy director for Marijuana Policy Project.

The activists« disappointment is understandable, since New Mexico came very close to putting a definitive end to »the war on cannabis” this year. In fact, last month, the state House of Representatives had approved a proposal to legalize on cannabis aimed at regulating its production and sale. The proposal called for a government-run near-monopoly on cannabis sales. However, it remained stalled in a Senate committee and was not put to a vote before the end of the legislative session.

The governor, who had campaigned for the legalization of cannabis, assured that she would introduce new initiatives to that effect during the next legislative session. In the meantime, she has just signed a law regulating hemp and will soon consider a possible expansion of the state’s medical cannabis program that would allow patients suffering from opioid addiction to access medical cannabis. A similar initiative in Illinois already allows patients to obtain medical cannabis upon presentation of a prescription for opioids.

I also signed legislation that will open the door to a key potential growth industry for New Mexico: hemp! House Bill 581 gives the green light to New Mexico businesses that have been preparing to extract, refine, and produce retail products containing locally grown hemp. Let's get to work! pic.twitter.com/8fAo3DXp2P

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- Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (@GovMLG) April 1, 2019

New Mexico thus becomes the 24th U.S. state to decriminalize cannabis; some have also legalized its medical use. Of the other 23 states, 10 have legalized cannabis for adult use, although the District of Columbia and Vermont do not currently allow sales, and 13 have simply decriminalized its use and possession. In all of these states, cannabis users no longer face prison time for simple possession within certain quantity limits. New Mexico is the latest to be added to this list. Decriminalization is currently debated by the Texas Legislature and a candidate for governor of Kentucky made it a campaign issue.