NM: Medical Marijuana Proposal Back Before Legislature

By Barry Massey, The Associated Press
Source: Albuquerque Journal

Santa Fe -- Erin Armstrong's soft voice trembles as she recounts her six-year fight against cancer and asks lawmakers to legalize the medical use of marijuana. "This isn't a drug issue at all. This is a patients' rights issue," said Armstrong, who suffers from nausea because of treatments for the cancer she's battled since she was 17.

"I am here on behalf of myself and all other suffering patients who should never have to choose whether or not keeping down the next meal is worth getting arrested," said Armstrong, who grew up in Santa Fe but lives in Albuquerque.

A proposal in the Legislature would allow the use of marijuana for pain or other symptoms of debilitating illnesses such as cancer, glaucoma, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, HIV-AIDS and certain spinal cord injuries.

"It's so hard to manage chronic nausea. It's so hard to gain the courage to leave your home, to leave the proximity of a restroom. It's hard to go to school. It's hard to go to work," Armstrong said Monday at a news conference at which the legislation was announced.

She hasn't tried marijuana for her nausea. For now, she's taking a prescription drug that costs more than $3,000 a month. She's still covered by her parents' health insurance but said other patients aren't so lucky.

Essie DeBonet, 60, of Albuquerque, was diagnosed with AIDS in 1994 and constantly suffers from nausea.

"I had to carry what I called a vomit bucket every place I went because I never knew when it was going to hit me and I was going to heave my guts out," she said.

New Mexico lawmakers have debated medical marijuana before.

Former Republican Gov. Gary Johnson supported the proposal as part of a package of drug law changes. In 2001, the House and Senate approved separate bills to permit the medical use of marijuana but never agreed on the same version of the proposal. In 2003, however, the House overwhelmingly rejected a medical marijuana measure.

A sponsor of this year's measure, Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, said lawmakers should no longer fear any political fallout from voting for medical marijuana.

"Not one senator, not one representative lost their seat because of this issue," said McSorley. "This is a bill of freedom and justice, not of old prejudices and hateful things people want you to believe about medical marijuana."

Ten states allow the use of marijuana as medicine: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Oregon, Nevada, Vermont and Washington. Arizona has a law permitting marijuana prescriptions but no active program.

In most states, patients must grow their own marijuana or have a designated caregiver do it for them. That would not be allowed by the New Mexico proposal.

Under The Legislation:

- The state Health Department would license producers to provide the marijuana. The only cost to patients would be an annual registration fee set by the agency.

- A doctor must recommend the use of marijuana for a patient and the individual would apply to the department. A review board of doctors would consider each application. If approved by the board, patients would be registered by the state to possess enough marijuana to treat their illnesses.

District attorneys and law enforcement groups opposed the 2003 legislation.

Lemuel Martinez, president of the New Mexico District Attorneys' Association, said no formal vote has been taken by the group but he expects continued opposition because a user of medical marijuana - even if allowed in New Mexico - could be subject to federal drug charges.

The legislation also raises legal questions, he said, because it calls for a state agency to license marijuana producers.

"I believe it would probably run afoul of federal law," Martinez, the district attorney in Valencia, Cibola and part of Sandoval counties, said in a telephone interview.

A case is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court on whether the federal government can prosecute sick people who use marijuana with state approval and the permission of their doctors.

Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM)
Author: Barry Massey, The Associated Press
Published: February 7, 2005
Copyright: 2005 Albuquerque Journal
Contact: opinion@abqjournal.com
Website: http://www.abqjournal.com/

 

By Steve Terrell, The New Mexican
Source: Santa Fe New Mexican

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.

Armstrong, who was diagnosed with cancer when she was 17, said, "It's not just a drug issue. It's a patients-rights issue. Patients should not have to decide if keeping down your next meal is worth getting arrested."

Armstrong, who now lives in Albuquerque, said she takes a drug called Zofran to control her nausea. It works well, she said, but it's very expensive.

Without insurance, a bottle of 36 pills costs more than $1,000, she said. It would cost more than $3,000 a month for Zofran without insurance.

"I'm afraid I won't have access to affordable treatment," Armstrong said.

In past medical-marijuana debates, some opponents of the idea have touted a drug called Marinol, which contains THC, a chemical found in marijuana. However, that drug, manufactured by the Solvay company, also is very expensive. According to Web sites selling prescription drugs, Marinol costs between $4.31 and more than $16 a pill, depending on the strength.

McSorley, at a news conference Monday, said under his bill, medical marijuana, grown at a facility licensed by the state, would be free to patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, HIV or AIDS, epilepsy or spinal-cord injuries.

In the past, the pharmaceutical industry has not been visibly active in opposing medical-marijuana legislation. But the industry -- which in 2002 contributed more than $97,000 to New Mexico political campaigns, including $40,000 to Gov. Bill Richardson -- stands to lose if marijuana became a free and legal treatment.

GlaxoSmithKline, the company that manufactures Zofran, contributed more than $13,000 to New Mexico politicians in 2002, according to the Institute of Money in State Politics -- hhttp://www.followthemoney.org/

No New Mexico political contributions could be found for the Solvay company. The most visible opposition to medical marijuana has come from law enforcement. That also could be the case this year.

Mike Bowen, a retired state-police commander who works as a lobbyist for police organizations, said Monday he hasn't yet seen the bill, but his organizations probably would oppose McSorley's legislation if it is similar to past bills.

"It's mainly because of not enough controls built in," he said. "Also, there are synthetic drugs that can be used. And it's still against federal law."

The U.S. Supreme Court currently is considering a case that could determine whether the federal government can prosecute ailing marijuana users who use the drug with their state's approval.

Legislative support for medical marijuana seems to have withered from the days of former Gov. Gary Johnson, who made drug-law reform a legislative priority.

In 2001, the Legislature came close to passing medical-marijuana legislation. The House and the Senate approved separate bills that year, but neither bill passed both chambers. However in 2003, a medical-marijuana bill was killed in the House by an overwhelming margin. Eight Democrats and seven Republicans who had voted for medical marijuana in 2001 voted against it in 2003.

But, McSorley said, in the last election no legislator who voted for medical marijuana in the past was defeated because of that issue. "This is a bill of freedom and justice, not of old prejudices and hateful things people want you to believe about medical marijuana."

Two of the most aggressive medical-marijuana opponents -- Rep. Ron Godbey, R-Cedar Crest, and Sen. Ramsay Gorham, R-Albuquerque -- are no longer in the Legislature.

A 2002 Mason-Dixon poll for The New Mexican and KOB-TV showed 72 percent of New Mexicans in favor of allowing seriously ill people to use marijuana to treat their symptoms. Only 20 percent were against it.

Source: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM)
Author: Steve Terrell, The New Mexican
Published: February 8, 2005
Copyright: 2005 The Santa Fe New Mexican
Contact: letters@sfnewmexican.com
Website: http://www.sfnewmexican.com/

 

By Karen Polly, Current-Argus Staff Writer
Source: Carlsbad Current-Argus

Carlsbad -- Senators from Eddy County voted against a bill that would allow access to marijuana, but it passed the Senate on a 27-11 vote. After a week of being stalled on the House floor, though, their votes were twice moot.
Senate bill 795 was on the House floor since Monday, but was skipped over each day. According to lobbyist Reena Szczepanski, the bill was the last item addressed Saturday before the House adjourned, but she said Speaker Ben Lujan said the bill was too controversial and would take up too much time.

“It wasn't that we didn't have the votes,” Szczepanski said Saturday afternoon. “It was that somehow, we were trapped in the middle of a game.”

“It would have been nice if every one of these issues were black and white,” Sen. Vernon Asbill said of the bills presented to him in his freshman year in the state legislature.

”You hate to vote against those folks that really are getting some medical benefit out of this, but in reality, it still remains an illegal substance.”

Asbill said that other drugs that are available to sick people are sometimes illegal for people to possess without a prescription, but he said there is a process for people to follow to obtain the drugs legally. It would be better if researchers could come up with the ingredients that make marijuana beneficial to some and put it in a pill form, he said.

Sen. Carroll Leavell said he also voted against the bill.

“My thinking on that is that it sends a bad message to our young people that certain use of narcotics is acceptable. I think there's just too much use and abuse of narcotics on the street today,” Leavell said. He said that prescription drugs are also problematic, but are controlled by prescriptive use.

“This is something we should look at, but I'm so concerned about the message that we're sending to our youngsters,” Leavell said.

He said that cancer and other illnesses can cause discomfort, but he believes drugs that are already legal will take care of problems as well or better than marijuana. But Leavell also noted that the bill picked up support from both sides of the aisle in the Senate, and was non-partisan, “as it should be.”

Senate bill 795, named the Lynn Pierson Compassionate Use Act, provided for the production and dispensing of marijuana within the state of New Mexico for people suffering from debilitating conditions such as cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy and spinal cord injuries.

If the bill would have passed, the Department of Health would have regulated and administered the program, appointing an advisory board of eight physicians to provide additional oversight. The department would have determined an intrastate, licensed producer of the marijuana, and allowed the provider to give the marijuana to the patient free of charge.

Szczepanski, director for the Drug Policy Alliance of New Mexico in Santa Fe, had been lobbying for the bill during the legislative session. Szczepanski said Tuesday that New Mexico State University, University of New Mexico or the state Department of Agriculture would all be good candidates for producing the marijuana for the patients in a tightly controlled system.

“What the Department of Health can do is charge a registration fee or charge a licensing fee for the producer,” Szczepanski said. “We don't want people to come in and make money off of these sick people.”

What makes the situation different from a normal pharmaceutical company attempting to sell a product to a patient in need, Szczepanski said, is that if there is any profit made, federal narcotics laws would be broken.

“By creating a non-commercial system, we will be within federal law,” Szczepanski said.


Although she said federal agents still consider that they have the right to arrest anyone in possession of marijuana, only 18 people have ever faced prosecution for possession of marijuana that they claimed was necessary for medical reasons. Most of those 18 people were in violation of the state laws as well, Szczepanski said.

“There is no conflict with federal law the way we've crafted this bill. There really is no federal law issue with this bill,” Szczepanski said.

She said 10 other states have similar laws allowing doctors to recommend, yet not prescribe, marijuana. The state would approve the recommendation and determine how much cannabis could be doled out to a patient, who could then take in the product through use of a vaporizer, by smoking it or by eating it.

“We anticipate, based on the size of other states' registries, it could be anywhere from 50 to 200 people,” Szczepanski said.

Needs for the drug vary, Szczepanski said. Some of the patients have cancer or AIDS, and are too nauseous to eat when on treatment. Treatment with marijuana allows them to recover their appetite and survive their treatment.

Other patients have muscle spasms, which marijuana prevents, Szczepanski said, noting that opiates commonly prescribed do not prevent the spasms.

“It's a quality of life issue for some patients. They'd rather not be doped up on opiates,” Szczepanski said.


“For some people, this is the only thing that helps them, so we want this to be one of the options a doctor can offer for treatment.”

A fiscal impact report on the bill states that there is no appropriation for administering the marijuana in the state's budget, and states that a full-time administrator through the Department of Health for the project will cost about $150,000 annually.

Szczepanski said the bill had faced little opposition from state legislators, which made the fact that it was on the House calendar all week surprising.

“Really, there's been very little opposition because of the nature of the bill. It's a very controlled, highly regulated bill we're trying to submit,” Szczepanski said Tuesday.
But by Thursday, Szczepanski's optimism seemed to have faded.

“It has been skipped over two days in a row,” Szczepanski said. “There's every indication that this bill is being held hostage.”

Szczepanski said state Rep. Daniel Silva, an Albuquerque Democrat, was to blame for the hold-up.

According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, Silva held up the bill because he could not get a bill that would help his constituents to build homes more cheaply in southwest Albuquerque heard in the Senate.

“I don't want that bill heard,” Silva told the Santa Fe New Mexican regarding the medical marijuana bill.


“My bill is a lot more important to my constituents.”

Silva did not return calls to the Current-Argus on Friday.

Vicky Plevin, mother of Max Plevin Gardner, who died three years ago at age 26 after a long fight with colon cancer, said it was “tragic” that New Mexico legislators would play games with a bill designed to help sick people. She said she had testified before the House Public Affairs Committee about her son's battle with cancer.

“I'm actually appalled at what's going on up there in Santa Fe,” Plevin, of Albuquerque, said.

Plevin said that after her son, who was near 6 feet in height, dropped to 83 pounds, she began taking doctor's advice to get some marijuana for him.

“Every time we took him to the doctor, they'd take me aside and say, ‘Can you get him some marijuana?'” Plevin said.


“Marijuana was so helpful to him, not only to help him hold down his food, but to comfort him. I don't think families with dying family members should have to go out and look for drug dealers. I would go out and do it again. If you had a child who was suffering like that, you would, too.”

Plevin said the family had “closets full of narcotics,” listing Vicodin, Percocet, OxyContin and morphine among the drugs prescribed to her son so that he could regain his appetite and comfort.

“I hear, ‘What's the message we're sending to our children?' Vicodin, Percocet, morphine?

They're 20 times more addictive. But they upset his stomach. He needed the marijuana,” Plevin said.


“The thing about smoking marijuana was that my son could control when he had enough, when he wasn't nauseated anymore.”

After talking to legislators about what her son went through, Plevin said she believed that
many of them understood that the issue was about medicine for sick people. But of the holdup in the House, she said, “I really think it's tragic for them to play games with something like this.”

Erin Armstrong, a 23-year-old cancer patient and UNM student from Santa Fe, said Friday she was diagnosed with cancer almost six years ago.

“I'm currently not having to undergo treatment, because I'm stable. But I'm not under remission,” Armstrong said. “I have a lot to look forward to in the future. It is my hope that all medical treatment options would be available to me if and when I have to go through treatment again.”

On Saturday, Szczepanski said those in support of medical marijuana are already regrouping, but she said she does not know if some of them will survive another year to lobby state legislators.

“I think the House should be concerned about the devastating message that they sent to the people that need the most protection in our state, the people who are seriously fighting for their lives,” Szczepanski said. “But, we're already making our plans for next year.”

Source: Carlsbad Current-Argus (NM)
Author: Karen Polly, Current-Argus Staff Writer
Published: March 20, 2005
Copyright: 2005 Carlsbad Current-Argus
Link to article: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20380.shtml

 

By Steve Terrell, The New Mexican
Source: Santa Fe New Mexican

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.

However, the attempt to revive Senate Bill 795 was stopped cold by House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, who said, “This is a very controversial item. We probably need a three-hour debate.”

Then House Majority Leader Kenny Martinez of Grants moved to adjourn the session.
Medical marijuana was one of this session's most glaring examples of how bills can be delayed, held hostage and even killed as a result of political spats between lawmakers.

In this case, Rep. Dan Silva, D-Albuquerque, admitted this week he was working to hold up SB 795 until the Senate Judiciary Committee heard a bill of his dealing with impact fees on Albuquerque developers.

The connection was Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, the chairman of the judiciary committee as well as the sponsor of the medical-marijuana bill.

Silva's bill never got heard. And even though McSorley's bill was on the House Floor Calendar for six days last week, there was no mention of it on the House floor until Foley's motion.

The speaker of the House has the authority to decide when bills get heard on the floor.
Luján said Saturday that Rep. Henry “Kiki” Saavedra, D-Albuquerque, who was carrying the bill in the House for McSorley, asked for the bill to be passed over.

Saavedra was a co-sponsor of Silva's impact-fees bill. Both Saavedra and Silva have sons who worked as lobbyists advocating Silva's bill.

Luján said medical-marijuana advocates never spoke to him about getting the bill heard.


Asked if that would have swayed him to hear it, Luján said, “It would have helped.”
Reena Szczepanski, director of the New Mexico Drug Policy Alliance, said she and others contacted the speaker's office several times last week.

Luján wouldn't say if he'd have voted for SB 795. But Gov. Bill Richardson said Saturday he would have signed it.

“The House chose not to help dying people,” McSorley said Saturday. “It was money over mercy.”

Source: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM)
Author: Steve Terrell, The New Mexican
Published: March 20, 2005
Copyright: 2005 The Santa Fe New Mexican
Contact: letters@sfnewmexican.com
Website: http://www.sfnewmexican.com/
Link to article: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20381.shtml

 

By Steve Terrell, The New Mexican
Source: Santa Fe New Mexican

New Mexico -- 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 Luján , DNambé , said before the session started that he had asked Richardson not to include medical marijuana on his call, saying there wasn't enough time.

But on Wednesday night, Richardson said in a news release, “After speaking with many seriously ill New Mexicans, I have decided to include this bill on my call. This issue is too important, and there are too many New Mexicans suffering to delay this issue any further.”

“We're so thrilled and so grateful,” said Reena Szczepanski, director of the state chapter of The Drug Policy Alliance, a national advocacy group that has been pushing the proposed bill.

“We're proud to have a governor who will stand up for compassion. We know it was a hard decision,” she said.

This week, the group advertised in newspapers urging readers to contact officials about the issue.

An e-mail from Szczepanski to supporters this week said, “Thanks to public outcry from supporters like you, we've had hundreds of letters from our members sent to the governor.”

The proposed bill would allow patients seriously ill with cancer, AIDS or certain other medical conditions legal access to marijuana.

Patients would be recommended by their doctors to a program overseen by the state Department of Health.

The department would be responsible for developing regulations for licensed producers of medical marijuana within the state and coming up with standards for safety, security and distribution.

Although both Richardson and Luján said the bill might be too controversial for a short session, last year relatively little controversy surrounded the bill, which had bipartisan support.

Last year, the legislation sailed through the Senate, passing 27-11 .

Though it breezed through House committees, the bill died in the House after Rep. Dan Silva, D-Albuquerque , got upset with the bill's sponsor, Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque , over Silva's unrelated zoning bill.

McSorley will sponsor the bill again this year, an alliance news release said.

Source: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM)
Author: Steve Terrell, The New Mexican
Published: January 19, 2006
Copyright: 2006 The Santa Fe New Mexican
Contact: letters@sfnewmexican.com
Website: http://www.sfnewmexican.com/
Link to article: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21495.shtml

 

By Jim Tiffin, Cibola County Bureau
Source: Gallup Independent

Grants, N.M. -- Crippling nausea, painful muscle spasms and other types of medical problems can be reduced or relieved by smoking marijuana and the state legislature is considering making that legal.
Reena Szczepanski, director of the Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico program said thousands of New Mexico residents could benefit by making the use of marijuana to relieve their symptoms legal.

"Family members of patients have told me heartbreaking stories,"she said.

Szczepanski was told about an 18-year-old who had stomach cancer. Doctors and nurses told him and his family they should use marijuana to relieve the nausea and pain, but no one knew where to get it.

"The doctors and nurses were afraid of being arrested if they told the family where to get it and the family members felt that way too," Szczepanski said.

"So the 18-year old went out on the street and bought it,"she said."That family should not have been placed in that position."

Choosing between life and the law if a consideration many individuals and families are faced with because using marijuana is illegal now, regardless of the situation, she said.

The bill, SB258, was introduced Thursday by state Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque,, she said, and it has a lot of bipartisan support.

The bill was introduced last year, and also in 2001, 2002 and 2003 in various forms gaining legislative support increasingly, she said.

Last year the bill passed state Senate committees, a Senate floor vote 27-11, House committees, but because of internal problems at the state capitol, it never went to the
floor for the final vote, Szczepanski said.

There are several medical conditions that the use of marijuana relieves either nausea or pain, said Dr. Ron Vorhees, chief medical officer for the New Mexico Department of Health.

He said the six conditions the bill has introduced for approval are: Cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, epilepsy and patients with HIV.

Marijuana is medically proven to control and reduce nausea caused by chemotherapy or the AIDS cocktails given to HIV patients, Szczepanski said.

"It controls pain and stimulates appetite too, especially for AIDS patients,"Szczepanski said.

"There is also evidence that it helps control seizures for people who have epilepsy,"she said.

Vorhees said he had no knowledge of whether it controlled seizures or not.

Gov. Bill Richardson has asked the legislature to consider the bill again this year, even though is a 30-day session. Some legislators said they didn't want to revisit the bill in such a short session.

There are 11 states that currently allow the use of medical marijuana. They are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Rhode Island.

A drug, "Marinol," has many of the components of marijuana, but it is poorly absorbed and it is difficult to monitor and control, according to information provided by the Alliance.

In New Mexico, about 6,400 patients are diagnosed with cancer every year, about 2,700 cancer patients die each year and about 2,800 New Mexicans are living with HIV/AIDS, according to the Alliance.

Vorhees said the state does not have any statistics on how many patients there are in the various medical categories, and that of those, how many would actually benefit from marijuana.

The health department will be required to set up rules and requirements for patients and doctors to follow for prescribing the drug as well as for issuing it to patients, Vorhees said.
He said any doctors prescribing marijuana would have to provide information on what the patient's conditions is, why the patient needs it and what drugs have not worked.

An advisory panel of physicians in various medical specialties would sit on a board and review requests for marijuana.

"The advisory panel would make recommendations on what other conditions may be included and determine a list of what is acceptable as well as how much the patient would receive," he said.

Editor's note: This is the first in a two-part series on medical marijuana. The state legislature is considering the bill for passage this year, for the fifth time in six years.

Complete Title: N.M. Legislature Considering Legal Medical Marijuana

Source: Independent, The (Gallup, NM)
Author: Jim Tiffin, Cibola County Bureau
Published: January 21, 2006
Copyright: 2006 Gallup Independent
Contact: ga11p1nd@cnetco.com
Website: http://www.gallupindependent.com
Link to article: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21506.shtml

 

By Jim Tiffin, Cibola County Bureau
Source: Gallup Independent

Santa Fe, N.M. -- As the New Mexico State Legislature considers whether to pass legislation making the use of marijuana legal for certain medical conditions, there are some questions that need to be answered.
But first, some information: According to the Drug Policy Alliance News Mexico chapter, about 81 percent of New Mexicans support the use of medical marijuana. Nationwide, about three-quarters of Americans favor the use, according to a 2004 poll by AARP.

Reena Szczepanski, director of Drug Policy Alliance in New Mexico said Senate Bill 258, introduced by Albuquerque Democratic Sen. Cisco McSorley, has bipartisan support again this year and nearly was passed in last year's legislative session.

"There are about 100,000 medical marijuana patients in the country," Szczepanski said.

"State and federal governments have laws against the possession and use of marijuana, but 99 percent of all arrests and prosecutions happen under state law," she said.

"If the bill passes we have to have a safe source for the patients and take the drug dealers out of the situation," said Dr. Ron Vorhees, chief medical officer for the New Mexico Department of Health.

The legal use of medical marijuana causes concern for one law enforcement officer, Lt. Harry Hall, Cibola County Sheriff's Department.

"I would like to see the people that need it get it, but the legislators have to figure out some things," he said.

"We have a test for people who drink alcohol and drive and are under the influence (DWI), and alcohol is legal," he said.

"How do we test someone who is under the influence of marijuana? What test do we give them?"

Hall said he can see the possibility of an increase in the DWI stops and arrests because what is to stop someone from taking their legal dose of marijuana and then decide to go to the grocery store?

Another question he has is how will the patients secure the drug in their home to keep it from other people?

After someone takes a drink, they are supposed to wait a certain amount of time before driving. Hall asked how much time does the medical marijuana patient have to wait?

Hall also asked how do law enforcement officers know whether the person is in possession of marijuana for medical purposes legally? He said the state will have to issue some type of legal document for them to have.

Vorhees said the state plans on doing just that. It will issue an identification card for the medical marijuana patient.

Minors will need their parents' consent in order to receive the treatment, in addition to the doctor's written recommendation, Vorhees said.

The health department will be required to set the regulations and limits on the usage of the marijuana if the bill passes, Vorhees said.

Patients who are in six medically diagnosed conditions: Cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, epilepsy and patients with HIV are the only ones who will qualify under the bill to receive the treatment.

If there are other conditions, those will be identified and set by an advisory panel of physicians to the health department, which should accept them, he said.

There will be licensed growers certified by the state so that patients receive a safe supply of the drug, Vorhees said.

Editor's note: This is the second in a two-part series on medical marijuana. The state legislature is considering the bill for passage this year, for the fifth time in six years.

Source: Independent, The (Gallup, NM)
Author: Jim Tiffin, Cibola County Bureau
Published: Monday, January 23, 2006
Copyright: 2006 Gallup Independent
Contact: jimtiffin1@msn.com
Website: http://www.gallupindependent.com
Link to article: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21510.shtml

 

By Deborah Baker, The Associated Press
Source: Associated Press

Santa Fe, N.M. -- Medical marijuana advocates have cleared the first hurdle in an uphill effort to get a bill through both houses of the Legislature during this year's short session.

The Senate Public Affairs Committee — the first of three Senate panels assigned to review it — endorsed the measure unanimously on Tuesday. It legalizes marijuana use by patients with debilitating illnesses, such as cancer or AIDS, whose doctors refer them to a program operated by the Department of Health.

"Having to choose between staying alive and obeying the law is a horrible, horrible decision that no one should be forced to face,'' said Essie DeBonet, 61, a frail AIDS patient who said the drug helps combat the nausea induced by multiple medications.

The bill is familiar to lawmakers; it made it through the Senate and two House committees last year only to die on the floor of the House, where it fell victim to political squabbling over another issue and was never voted on.

Gov. Bill Richardson on Tuesday reiterated his backing for it and said a "substantial'' portion of the public agrees.

"I think there have got to be strict standards. But for those that are suffering ... I support it,'' the governor said.

New Mexico had a medical marijuana program in the late 1970s in conjunction with a research project that was used by more than 250 patients before it lost its funding in 1986. Advocates have been trying to revive it for a decade, first through the Board of Pharmacy and then as of 2001 in the Legislature.

Groups representing district attorneys and police agencies opposed the bill, telling committee members it would open the state up to more criminal activity and violate federal law.

"The bottom line for us is, it's still against federal law,'' said Donald Gallegos, district attorney in the Taos-based Eighth Judicial District.

But Sen. Steve Komadina, R-Corrales, a physician, said patients would benefit from it and the bill contains enough safeguards.

"There's more control over this than when I write (prescriptions for) Tylenol with codeine, or anything else,'' Komadina said.

Source: Associated Press (Wire)
Author: Deborah Baker, The Associated Press
Published: Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Copyright: 2006 The Associated Press
Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread21514.shtml

 

By Steve Terrell, The New Mexican
Source: Santa Fe New Mexican

New Mexico -- 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.

The committee heard from patients who say medical marijuana would ease their suffering. Fred McDonald, 45, who has multiple sclerosis, said he splits his time between New Mexico and Washington state. “My doctors in Washington treat me with medical marijuana,” he said. “But when I come here, it's illegal.”

Essie DeBonet, 61, an AIDS sufferer who has lobbied two years for a medicalmarijuana bill, said: “Nobody should have to choose between breaking the law and staying alive.”
Also asking the committee to recommend the bill was cancer patient Erin Armstrong, the 24-year-old daughter of state Aging and Long-Term Services secretary Debbie Armstrong.

Debbie Armstrong was one of three of Gov. Bill Richardson's cabinet members at the committee hearing.

Human Services Secretary Pam Hyde told the committee, “It's time we sent a message to the federal government.”

Health Secretary Michelle Grisham-Lujan told the panel that it would not be difficult to set up a program in her department to oversee medical marijuana.

But one Richardson cabinet secretary not at the hearing was state Public Safety Secretary
John Denko. During his tenure as Santa Fe police chief, Denko had testified in legislative hearings against previous medical-marijuana bills.

The only opponents to testify Tuesday were from the law-enforcement community .

Taos District Attorney Donald Gallegos predicted the bill would run afoul of federal law if the Legislature passes it.

But state Sen. Steve Komadina, R-Corrales , who is a doctor, said the bill has tight safeguards. He said the bill provides stricter controls on marijuana than current law does on much stronger and addictive drugs such as codeine and OxyContin.

The bill goes on to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Source: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM)
Author: Steve Terrell, The New Mexican
Published: January 25, 2006
Copyright: 2006 The Santa Fe New Mexican
Contact: letters@sfnewmexican.com
Website: http://www.sfnewmexican.com/
Link to article: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21517.shtml

 

By Walter Rubel, Santa Fe Bureau Chief
Source: Farmington Daily Times

Santa Fe, N.M. -- A bill to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes was unanimously endorsed by the Senate Public Affairs Committee following testimony by patients who described its use as a matter of life and death.
Essie DeBonet, 61, told committee members that she is an 18-year AIDS survivor who is constantly dealing with nausea. She said later that she is taking four medications to combat her disease, and another nine medications to deal with the side effects of AIDS drugs.

"My life has become degrees of nausea," she said. "It (medical marijuana) enables me to eat anything I want."

Errin Armstrong, daughter of Aging Secretary Debbie Armstrong, said she is a cancer patient who pushed back a scheduled biopsy in order to testify in support of the bill.

"This is something I'll be battling the rest of my life," she said. "I ask you to provide me with every option I can discuss with my doctor."

The bill would shield both the patient and the primary caregiver from arrest. It would establish a new board that would be responsible for issuing registry cards to qualified users.

The board also would identify procedures for producing and distributing the drug.
Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, who is sponsoring the bill, said it is nearly identical to legislation that was introduced last year, but died when time ran out on the session.

"We are not claiming this cures anything," McSorley said. "We are only claiming that this substance, this herb, helps with conditions when people take it."

The bill was opposed by representatives of several law enforcement agencies, who said they feared the law would be abused.

"What will happen is, it's opening the door for the criminal element to come to New Mexico," said Errol Chavez, director of the New Mexico High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area in Las Cruces.

Donald Gallegos, director of the New Mexico District Attorneys' Association, said even if the state passes a law to legalize medical marijuana, the federal government still considers the substance to be illegal.

He noted that other states, including California, have run into conflict with the feds when they moved to legalize the drug.

Sen. Steve Komadina, R-Corrales, who along with being a lawmaker is also a medical doctor, said he was originally opposed to legalizing marijuana. But Komadina said he's convinced the bill has enough protections to keep the drug from being abused.

"There's more control with this than when I write a prescription for Tylenol with codeine," Komadina said. "We know prescription drugs are abused just as much as illegal drugs. I think this is a bill that will not in any way allow criminal use."

The bill will now move to the Senate Judiciary Committee. If endorsed in that committee, it would then go to the full Senate for consideration.

The bill, SB231, can be found on the Internet at: http://legis.state.nm.us/lcs/

Source: Farmington Daily Times (NM)
Author: Walter Rubel, Santa Fe Bureau Chief
Published: January 26, 2006
Copyright: 2006 NorthWest New Mexico Publishing Co.
Contact: jgarcia@daily-times.com
Website: http://www.daily-times.com/
Link to article: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21515.shtml

 

Hell yeah NM!! Don't let the damn US policies influence the Medical marijuana bill you're trying to pass. Way to stand up to the US pressure! Fuck David Murphy, that dude needs to get his shit straight, and quit spreading propaganda.

By Steve Terrell, The New Mexican
Source: Santa Fe New Mexican

New Mexico -- 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.

He likened medical-marijuana proponents to “medicine shows, traveling charlatans and snake-oil salesmen” selling phony “tinctures, magical herbs and remedies.” Murray said medical marijuana is an issue that has been brought forth not by the medical profession but by advocates of drug legalization.

“They use emotion, they use suffering patients, they use anecdote,” he said. And in a statement that some committee members criticized, Murray added: “I regard much of that as cynical and manipulative.”

Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, took him to task for those words, pointing out that sponsors of crime legislation often bring victims of crimes to testify without being called “cynical and manipulative.”

“I don't know how you do it back East,” Sanchez told Murray, “But this is the people's house. Everybody has a right to be here just as much as you do. When you said this to us, you showed us where you were really at. I don't think you should go to a state and say such things about their people.”

Some of Murray's toughest criticism came from Republicans on the Judiciary Committee.
Noting his argument that marijuana has no medicinal value, Sen. Clint Harden, R-Clovis, said, “We are not talking about the healing power of marijuana. The purpose of this is to reduce pain.”

Murray noted that the federal Food and Drug Administration has not approved marijuana for medical treatment. The FDA, not politicians, should make some determinations, he said.

Sen. Rod Adair, R-Roswell, disputed statements by Murray and some state law-enforcement representatives that medical marijuana will increase use of the drug. He compared the bill to the concealed-carry law, which lets people apply for permits to carry hidden guns. Some opponents said that law would give criminals the right to carry concealed weapons.

“But robbers are already doing that,” Adair said. Likewise, those who smoke marijuana illegally are doing so without a medical-marijuana law, he said.
Sen. John Grubesic, D-Santa Fe, told Murray he had a hard time accepting the claim that medical marijuana is “the huge bogey man you want it to be.”

But Sen. Bill Payne, R-Albuquerque, said the bill boils down to a state challenge of the federal Controlled Substances Act and “whether or not the government has the right to control drugs.”

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, responded that all it does is tell a small number of medical patients that the state will not prosecute them for using marijuana.

The measure goes on to the Senate floor, where a spokesman for the Senate said it could be heard as early as Tuesday. Last year, a similar bill that the Senate passed died in the House.

SB158 would let patients with debilitating medical conditions, including cancer and AIDS, use marijuana to treat pain and nausea caused by serious diseases 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.

Complete Title: Drug Policy Official Fails To Sway Senate -- Committee Sends Medical Marijuana Bill Forward

On The Web: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/index.html

Source: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM)
Author: Steve Terrell, The New Mexican
Published: January 28, 2006
Copyright: 2006 The Santa Fe New Mexican
Contact: letters@sfnewmexican.com
Website: http://www.sfnewmexican.com/
Link to article: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21529.shtml

 

By Barry Massey
Source: Associated Press

Santa Fe, N.M. -- The state Senate overwhelmingly approved a proposal Tuesday to allow patients seriously ill with cancer, AIDS and some other illnesses to use marijuana for medical purposes. Supporters say marijuana can help people suffering from the pain of certain debilitating illnesses or nausea caused by treatments for cancer.
"I just can't say enough about the number of people who will benefit, not a large number, just a few. But that few, we've been able to really give them a second chance at life in a lot of times," said Sen. Timothy Jennings, D-Roswell.

"And for those who don't have that second chance, we've at least given them a little relief, which is what I think we're there for."

The bill passed the Senate on a 34-6 vote. The bill goes to the House, where a medical marijuana proposal died last year.

Opponents said state government shouldn't become involved in the distribution and production of marijuana, which is federal government considers an illegal drug with no medical value.

"I think this sends such a terrible message to the young people that we have here, that I will not and cannot support this," said Sen. Carroll Leavell, R-Jal.

In New Mexico, possessing an ounce or less of marijuana is a misdemeanor. However, possession of more than eight ounces is a felony punishable by 18 months in prison.
Opponents also pointed out that a user of medical marijuana _ even if were legal under New Mexico law _ could be subject to federal drug charges.

Eleven states allow the use of marijuana as medicine: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Oregon, Nevada, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Most allow patients or people designated as their caregivers to grow small amounts of marijuana for the patients' use.

Under the measure passed by the New Mexico Senate, the Health Department would set up a system for patients to obtain marijuana. Patients could not grow it themselves. The agency would be responsible for licensing marijuana providers or marijuana-growing facilities.

A doctor or other health care provider would certify to the department that someone suffered from a qualifying illness, including cancer, glaucoma, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, HIV-AIDS and certain spinal cord injuries. The patient would be registered with the department and would be issued an identification card.

New Mexico lawmakers have debated medical marijuana for several years.

A similar measure passed the state Senate last year but died upon adjournment because it never reached a vote in the House.

Source: Associated Press (Wire)
Author: Barry Massey
Published: January 31, 2006
Copyright: 2006 The Associated Press
Link to article: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21544.shtml

 

By Steve Terrell, The New Mexican
Source: Santa Fe New Mexican

Santa Fe, NM -- 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.

With two of the Senate's most socially conservative senators - Sen. Kent Cravens, R-Albuquerque ; and Sen. Bill Sharer, R-Farmington - voting for the first time in favor of a medical-marijuana bill, it might seem that the political landscape has shifted for this issue.

However, to become law, the bill first must make it through the House, where last year's bill died as a “hostage” in political wrangling over an unrelated bill. Most involved in the issue agree the House won't be as easy as the Senate - especially during the last half of a short session.

Even before the bill passed the Senate, advocates began working the House.

“We had a great meeting last week with (House Speaker) Ben Luján ,” said Reena Szczepanski - director of the state chapter of The Drug Policy Alliance, a national drug-law reform group that has been pushing the proposed bill.
But she said the speaker made no promises. “It's definitely in his court now.”

In an interview Tuesday, Luján said he is disappointed that the medical-marijuana bill was one of the first Senate bills passed this year. “I would have hoped that the first bills passed would have addressed issues that are more at the forefront of what the general public really wants,” he said.

But, Luján said, “I'm not going to derail this bill or attempt to keep it from being heard.”

He said he expects to give the bill only two committee assignments - House Consumer and Public Affairs and House Judiciary - the same two that heard last year's bill.
Last year, the measure zipped through Consumer and Public Affairs unanimously and got an 8-1 favorable vote in Judiciary.

Although last year's bill was on the House floor schedule for several days, it never got heard. Rep. Dan Silva, DAlbuquerque , was blunt about the fact that he had worked behind the scenes to delay action on the medical-marijuana bill.

Silva said his actions were caused by the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by medical-marijuana sponsor McSorley , not hearing a bill dealing with an Albuquerque development that Silva sponsored.

On Tuesday, Silva said he had no plans to hold up the latest medical-marijuana bill.

Gov. Bill Richardson, who put the bill on his legislative call, has said he'd sign a medical-marijuana bill. Eric Witt, one of the governor's legislative liaisons, said Tuesday that Richardson would sign the bill if he was convinced it was not in direct conflict with federal law and it protected state agencies involved in the program.

Sen. Bill Payne, R-Albuquerque , has argued that the bill conflicts with federal law and is “throwing down the gauntlet” for a court challenge.

Cravens told his colleagues Tuesday that even though he voted against SB258 in the Judiciary Committee last week, he'd had “a change of heart.”

“I commend the sponsor,” he said. “The way he's gone about it added credibility to the bill.”

Sharer told a reporter, “This was a hard one for me. I was predisposed to vote against it.” But Sharer said he's convinced that the bill contains enough safeguards against abuse.

“This made me think this is a medical bill, not a marijuana bill.”

Some senators credited Erin Armstrong, the 24-year-old daughter of state Aging and Long-Term Services secretary Debbie Armstrong, for convincing them to back the bill. Erin Armstrong has struggled with thyroid cancer.

The Senate amended the title of the bill - originally named for Lynn Pierson, a cancer
patient who was instrumental in getting the Legislature to pass a medicalmarijuana research program in 1978 - to include Erin Armstrong's name.

Under the bill, the state Health Department would establish regulations by which patients - certified by a physician to be suffering specific medical conditions - could obtain marijuana. The department would license marijuana providers or marijuana-growing facilities.

Patients would be allowed to possess a three-month supply of the drug. Among the possible qualifying illnesses that would make a patient eligible for marijuana are cancer, glaucoma, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, HIV-AIDS and certain spinal-cord injuries. Those found guilty of fraudulently obtaining marijuana through the state program could be found guilty of a petty misdemeanor on top of whatever drug charges they faced. McSorley said patients would not be immune from federal prosecution.

But he said that so far the federal government hasn't prosecuted any patients in the medical-marijuana programs in the 11 states that have such laws.

Source: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM)
Author: Steve Terrell, The New Mexican
Published: January 31, 2006
Copyright: 2006 The Santa Fe New Mexican
Contact: letters@sfnewmexican.com
Website: http://www.sfnewmexican.com/
Link to article: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21550.shtml

 

By Walter Rubel, Santa Fe Bureau Chief
Source: Farmington Daily Times

Santa Fe, N.M. -- Senate President pro tem Ben Altamirano, D-Silver City, said Tuesday that if he or a member of his family were critically ill and needed marijuana to ease their suffering, he would find whatever he could on the illegal market.
“If I was suffering and needed some help tomorrow, I would go out and make every effort to get marijuana to help me and members of my family,” he said.


Under a bill passed Tuesday by the Senate, he wouldn't have to. On a 34-6 vote, the Senate approved a bill that would allow for the use of marijuana by those suffering from critical illnesses, if approved by a qualified practitioner.

The bill would create a new advisory board under the Department of Health that would issue recommendations for registry cards for qualified patients, determine an adequate amount of the drug and develop a system for producing and distributing it.

The bill now moves over to the House, which must also give its approval before it would be sent to Gov. Bill Richardson for his signature.

Those who opposed the bill said it would send the wrong message to youngsters and would fly in the face of a Supreme Court decision against a similar law in California.

Janet Redford, 75, of Farmington said she was concerned that if the law passed, it would open the door for abuse of the substance.

“I truly don't know how some of these families deal with it,” she said.

But those arguments were outweighed by those who said the drug would save lives and help those in their final days have a better quality of life.

Local resident Brenda Purcell, 48, of Farmington, said, “I do (support it) for cancer patients. If they say it's going to help them, I'm for it.”

Sen. Diane Snyder, R-Albuquerque, drew from her own experiences with the death of her father last year from Parkinson's disease. She said he was so drugged up at the end that she and her family felt they had been robbed of a chance to truly be with him in his final days. She said those who used marijuana to ease their pain did not lose their ability to communicate with family members.

“If you've ever seen pain like that, and I hadn't until then, you will do anything you can to stop that pain,” she said.

Sen. Tim Jennings, R-Roswell, talked about his experience in helping his wife deal with breast cancer. He said that for those cancer patients who are required to ingest chemotherapy drugs orally, the ability to digest and keep those drugs down can be a matter of life and death.

Sen. Carroll Leavell, R-Jal, was one of six senators to vote against the bill.

“My problem goes to the message we are sending to the young people of our state,” he said.

He noted that the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 vote last June, ruled against the California law in Raich v. Gonzales.

Farmington Police Sgt. Dan Calkins said the department will stand by the decisions made by the legislature.

“We elect officials to create laws,” he said. “We can only enforce the laws as a police department.”

Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, who sponsored the bill passed Tuesday, said that case was brought by Angel Raich, a patient who had been growing marijuana under the California law.

“The federal government has never prosecuted anybody for using medical marijuana,” McSorley said.

Sen. Steve Komadina, R-Corrales, who along with being a senator is also a medical doctor, said the controls the state would have under this bill are greater than those for other prescription medication such as codeine.

He said a patient would only be allowed to used medical marijuana if referred by a practitioner who is licensed to prescribe narcotics, and then only with the approval of the new board. Unlike the California law, patients would not be allowed to grow their own marijuana. The state would be responsible for its production and distribution.

The bill would not allow those under the influence of the drug to drive a vehicle and would prohibit its use at schools, the workplace and other public areas.

“Anyone who wants to abuse marijuana will hate this bill, because it in no way allows the abuse of anything,” Komadina said.

He noted that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved marinol, a drug that contains elements of cannabis, for use in treatment of those suffering from critical
diseases, but still claims that marijuana has no medicinal use.

“You can't have it both ways,” Komadina said.

McSorley noted that New Mexico allowed medical marijuana in the 1980s, but the program was phased out due to lack of funding. The bill at that time was named for Lynn Pierson, a Vietnam veteran who died of cancer. This bill also carries Pierson's name, as well as Erin Armstrong, a young cancer victim.

She said she is hopeful the House will follow the Senate's lead.

“We're hoping that the House shows the same caring and consideration and compassion that the Senate just did because we need it to stay alive,” added Essie DeBonet, 61. “Erin is on her way up. She's just starting out. I am on my way out.”

The bill is SB258, and can be found on the Internet at: http://www.legis.state.nm.us

Daily Times Reporters Ryan Hall and Rhys Saunders contributed to this report.

Source: Farmington Daily Times (NM)
Author: Walter Rubel, Santa Fe Bureau Chief
Published: February 01, 2006
Copyright: 2006 NorthWest New Mexico Publishing Co.
Contact: jgarcia@daily-times.com
Website: http://www.daily-times.com/
Link to article: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21548.shtml

 

By Jay Miller
Source: Las Cruces Sun-News

New Mexico -- Is the medical marijuana bill all about medicine or marijuana? That's the vexing question many lawmakers are asking themselves this year. This is another of those issues that affect only a few New Mexicans, but that take up a significant amount of time because they are so high-profile and emotionally charged.

More attention should be directed at education, health insurance, taxes, the budget and major economic development ventures such as a spaceport, which affect many New Mexicans. But it is an issue that is not going away until it is dealt with decisively, one way or the other.

Last year, it appeared that was about to happen. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Cisco McSorley of Albuquerque, whizzed through the Senate and past two House committees with only one dissenting vote. It was on the House calendar for action several days before the end of the session.
But then one influential House member, Rep. Dan Silva, became upset that a pet bill for his district was bottled up in McSorley's Senate Judiciary Committee and he managed to keep the medical marijuana bill from ever being acted upon.

So the process had to begin again this year, in a short session, which required a governor's message to even make it germane. Once again, the measure passed the Senate easily, by a 34-6 margin, with members voting for it who never had done so before. All Democrats supported it, plus 12 of 18 Republicans.

The bill is now in the House, where Speaker Ben Lujan, of Nambe, has promised nothing more than to not derail it. A few hours after making that statement, Lujan assigned the bill to the House Agriculture Committee instead of a committee that had heard it last year.

That isn't necessarily bad news. It likely will require a longer hearing, but it means additional people will become familiar with it. And for proponents of the bill, it may be good, since additional information seems to sway committee members in favor of the legislation.

For some House members, support of the measure will be an agonizing decision. Although polls show that a majority of Americans and New Mexicans support the use of marijuana for specific medical purposes, that support doesn't extend to all legislative districts.

If a lawmakers representing these districts become convinced that for medical and compassionate reasons they should support the measure, they must be prepared to convince their constituents they did the right thing.

Had this issue passed the Legislature last year, there would have been plenty of time to explain. Senators don't have to stand for re-election until 2008. But House members will be facing their electorate this year. The timing isn't great.

It also may not be good for Gov. Bill Richardson. He's not expected to pick up many votes if he signs the legislation, which he put on his call for the session. But he could lose votes from some who have strong moral reservations.

It also may not help in a national race, especially since marijuana is a federally banned substance. There are ways to structure a law to put it at least in a gray area as far as defying federal law is concerned. And that is what Richardson says he wants.

Eleven other states have such legislation, including some of our neighbors, so Richardson wouldn't be alone. But he could be the only governor seeking national office to have signed medical marijuana legislation.

Actually, New Mexico was the first state to approve marijuana for medical situations. In 1978, Lynn Pierson, a conscientious, sincere young man, convinced the Legislature to allow therapeutic research into medical marijuana. The program continued until it ran out of funds in 1986. Pierson died shortly after its passage.

A good discussion of the pros and cons of medical marijuana can be found in the

Legislative Finance Committee's financial impact report on Senate Bill 258, available at:
http://www.legis.state.nm.us

Columnist Jay Miller has been writing about Santa Fe politics since 1987.

Source: Las Cruces Sun-News (NM)
Author: Jay Miller
Published: Februry 7, 2006
Copyright: 2006 by Mid-States Newspapers Inc.
Contact: editorlcsn@zianet.com
Website: http://www.lcsun-news.com/
Link to article: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21572.shtml

 

Editorial
Source: Albuquerque Tribune

Santa Fe, N.M. -- It wasn't billed as the session on drugs, but the New Mexico Legislature definitely has a full plate of proposed drug laws, several of which merit passage. At the top of the list is the perennial effort to give state approval to the use of medical marijuana. Pass it, already.
Sanctioning the limited use of prescribed marijuana for the relief of pain or nausea - particularly in cancer patients, including those taking radiation or chemical therapy - is the right and humane thing to do, despite continuing federal efforts to keep it a crime. Eleven other states allow for medical marijuana.

If it provides relief - and the evidence is overwhelming that it does - and it can be medically prescribed, regulated and used in a safe manner, medical marijuana should be allowed in New Mexico. In fact, there really is no compelling state or federal reason to block its use.

On the other side of the drug fence, the Legislature is considering a broad measure that would crack down on the manufacture, use and abuse of methamphetamine. It, too, is overdue, for several good reasons.

Meth abuse is clearly on the rise and, like other drug abuse, is a threat to far more than the abusers and traffickers.

Dangerous meth labs, all too frequently set up in neighborhood houses where young children reside, represent a special threat to children and neighborhoods.

The problem is worthy of new state legislation that would impose more severe penalties for trafficking in meth, as well as a separate measure to restrict the sale of pseudoephedrine. This is a prime ingredient used by the makeshift labs to churn out the highly addictive meth. The Legislature would be wise to approve both measures, which aim to attack the supply of meth, making it more difficult and risky for meth producers.

Finally and unfortunately, legislative efforts to provide more money for drug abuse treatment was derailed last week, when about $2 million to fund it was stripped from the House version of the main budget bill. The Senate and Gov. Bill Richardson should restore the money to the state budget, because in addition to increasing penalties and attacking the street supply, the state should be doing more to help addicts kick the habit.

To realize how fruitful this path can be, state legislators need only read Tribune reporter Kate Nash's Saturday report, "Target: Meth." It details worthy efforts by former drug abuser Tani Gallup to set up a drug recovery house, Casa de Amigas, for women in Albuquerque.

"We really need the help in Albuquerque," says Gallup, noting that "there's a lot of people who want to get clean."

Meth is more than just a drug problem, and New Mexico officials will fight it best with a broad arsenal of laws and funding, including providing more deterrents and ways for those addicted to get the meth monkey off their backs.

Source: Albuquerque Tribune (NM)
Published: February 7, 2006
Copyright: 2006 The Albuquerque Tribune
Contact: letters@abqtrib.com
Website: http://www.abqtrib.com/
Link to article: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21574.shtml

 

By Steve Terrell, The New Mexican
Source: Santa Fe New Mexican

Santa Fe, NM -- 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.

"Five years ago, I lost my 19-year-old son," Steiner told a reporter.

The drug that killed Steven Steiner Jr. was OxyContin, a prescription narcotic that is legal.


"But marijuana played a major part in his death," Steiner said. "There's no doubt in my mind that marijuana is a gateway drug."

He repeated a common claim by medical-marijuana opponents that drug-liberalization advocates are using cancer and AIDS sufferers to pass medical laws, which, opponents say, is a first step to legalization of marijuana.

Backers of SB258, including Gov. Bill Richardson and senators from both political parties, have argued the bill provides sufficient safeguards to prevent widespread abuse and would help only people who are in serious pain.

According to DAMADD's Web site, Perdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, is a sponsor of the organization.

Several other large pharmaceutical companies, including Jannsen, Bristol-Meyers, Roche, Alpharma, UCB, Endo, Cephalon, Teva and Boehringer Ingelheim, also support DAMADD.


"Big (pharmaceuticals), they see what's happening," Steiner said. "They gave us funding unrestricted."

Steiner said his son wasn't using OxyContin correctly. "My son crushed it up and snorted it," he said.

The pharmaceutical industry never has been visibly active in opposing medical-marijuana legislation in New Mexico.

But the industry -- which contributed more than $97,000 to New Mexico political campaigns in 2002 and more than $56,000 in 2004 -- stands to lose money if marijuana became a free and legal treatment.

Prescription drugs to combat nausea and other symptoms, as some supporters say marijuana can do, may cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month.

Steiner appeared at a news conference with Rep Bill Rehm, R-Albuquerque. Rehm, a former narcotics detective with the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department, said he believes the medical-marijuana bill would result in more marijuana users driving vehicles.

"There's no requirement in the bill about having (marijuana-growing facilities) in close proximity to daycare centers or schools," he said. "There's nothing in the bill about smoking marijuana and driving a school bus or teaching school."

Complete Title: 2006 Legislature: Anti-Drug Group Fights Medical-Marijuana Bill

Source: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM)
Author: Steve Terrell, The New Mexican
Published: February 11, 2006
Copyright: 2006 The Santa Fe New Mexican
Contact: letters@sfnewmexican.com
Website: http://www.sfnewmexican.com/
Link to article: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21587.shtml