marijuana

NM to subsidize recreational marijuana businesses

4 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

As previously reported by the Piñon Post, the Democrats’ far-left bill they rammed through during the 2021 Special Session of the Legislature would come to an extreme cost to New Mexicans, who would be forced to subsidize marijuana businesses.

At the time, we reported:

…The upfront cost for implementing the marijuana industry, according to the previous 2021 session’s fiscal impact report, was $659,400 in 2022. However, the newly resurrected pot bill in this current legislative session paints a wildly different picture, forcing the state to delve out millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to prop up Big Pot.

The current bill introduced this special session calls for $1.7 million to the Regulation and Licensing Department to “administer” the bill, $750,000 to the Department of Public Safety for “drug recognition expert field certification for law enforcement,” $4 million to the Taxation and Revenue Department for expenditures in the 2021 and 2022 fiscal years, $500,000 to the Administrative Office of the Courts to help address with expungement of records, among other costs.

Just on face-value, the taxpayers of New Mexico would be on the hook for nearly $7 million to implement this costly industry, which was promised to be revenue-generating. 

However, according to the previous fiscal impact report for the bill that died in the first legislative session of 2021, by the fiscal year 2024, the flailing industry would only produce at most $15 million in net revenue to the state, which, if current spending levels remain, would only amount to 0.204% of the funds needed to fund the government. 

At the time, Rep. Stefani Lord (R-Bernalillo, Sandoval, and Santa Fe) was not pleased with the Democrats’ proposal, writing on Facebook, “We’ve been told marijuana will be revenue positive but now, in the middle of Special Session (that has been called in the middle of a Holiday week), we learn last-minute that the state will subsidize the marijuana industry with millions of taxpayer dollars. This is far from open transparent government!” 

Now, a legislative committee has approved subsidizing pot businesses, with the Regulation and Licensing Department’s proposal to have New Mexico taxpayers fund these businesses via “loans” at $250,000 apiece. These loans would have extremely competitive two percent and three percent interest rates. 

“The New Mexico Finance Authority is planning for a $5 million line of credit for cannabis entrepreneurs, with [an] average loan size of about $100,000. The application process is expected to open in February,” according to the Associated Press.

“Loans would be available to qualified cannabis ‘microbusinesses’ that are licensed to cultivate and sell marijuana from up to 200 plants at a single location, operating much like a craft winery or brewery,” the report notes.

Many legislators who voted for the extreme recreational marijuana bill took large sums from the Big Pot lobby. Scandal-ridden alleged serial groper Gov. Lujan Grisham, who demanded the bill be passed and signed into law, has taken tens of thousands of dollars from the industry in campaign cash.

According to the most recently filed campaign finance report from Lujan Grisham, former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White who owns the marijuana business PurLife gave her $10,000, $10,400, $10,400, and $10,400 in four apparently separate payments.

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Finance report: MLG received $10.4K from Pelosi, paid daughter more cash for cosmetics

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The Washington, D.C. swamp is coming to bat for scandal-ridden alleged serial groper Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham as she fights to stay in power following a calamitous tenure. Other than an economic catastrophe caused by Lujan Grisham leading to at least 40% of small businesses being crushed, millions of dollars have vanished from public agencies and her administration has seen some of the highest turnover in state history, with over 24 cabinet members jumping ship.

Now, as she faces tough opposition from seven declared Republican candidates who aim to take her out, Lujan Grisham’s buddies in Washington are coming to her rescue. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) gave the Governor a maxed-out donation of $10,400 from her reelection fund, while Democrat Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) gave Lujan Grisham $2,500 from his campaign account. 

Rep. Filemon Vela, Jr. (D-TX) gave Lujan Grisham $10,000, Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA) gave her $1,000, Rep. Annie Kuster (D-NH) gave her $1,000, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) gave her $1,000, while Rep. Mark Veasey (D-TX) gave her $1,000. Attorney General Hector Balderas’ political campaign gave her $10,400 and Gov. J.R. Pritzker (D-IL) gave her two donations of $10,400. 

Big PhRMA gave Lujan Grisham $5,000, Johnson & Johnson PAC gave her $5,000, Deloitte Political Action Committee gave her $10,000, marijuana company owned by former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White PurLife gave her $10,000, $10,400, $10,400, and $10,400 in four apparently separate accounts, the Bregman Law Firm gave her $10,400, The Bregman Livestock Company gave her $10,400, Keller and Keller gave her $1,000, Garcia Infinity and Garcia Subaru donated $10,400, respectively, while the pro-abortion group EMILY’s List gave her $9,400. 

Marathon Oil gave Lujan Grisham $4,600 and $10,400, despite the Governor being rabidly anti-oil and gas and signing New Mexico’s Green New Deal, the “Energy Transition Act.” 

The Democrat Governors Association (DGA), which Lujan Grisham chairs, gave her two donations of $10,400, which appears to be a conflict of interest since she apparently has oversight on the DGA’s expenditures, which just so happen to benefit her. 

Also included in this report is a donation of $480 to her daughter’s beauty endeavor “Beauty by Erin Grisham,” but the expense is listed as “office expenses.” Piñon Post founder and editor John Block filed an ethics complaint in May against the Governor for her use of campaign funds for hair and makeup — a direct violation of state law. In previous campaign reports, Lujan Grisham listed the hair and makeup payments as “media preparation.” 

In a June 1, 2021, sworn affidavit from Dominic Gabello, Lujan Grisham’s former staffer and campaign consultant, he claimed the latest payment of $480 in April was for the Governor’s State of the State address, which does not appear to fall in line with the purported description of the expenditure, which the Governor’s campaign reported as “office expenses.” 

The Ethics Commission has yet to make a final determination on the ethics complaint, but Lujan Grisham had multiple setbacks after the Commission characterized her lawyer’s arguments defending the misuse of funds as “unconvincing,” denying the campaign’s request for a dismissal of the complaint. 

Lujan Grisham paid $150,000 in campaign funds to a sexual accuser, James Hallinan, who said she poured water over his crotch and then groped him. She claims to be innocent, but most innocent people do not pay off their sexual accusers in hush money, especially to the tune of hundreds of thousands of donors’ money.

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After MLG signs radical recreational marijuana bill, liberals finally admit its meager economic impact

1 Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

During a special 2021 legislative session called by embattled Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Democrats rammed through their extreme marijuana bill despite health, safety, and economic concerns raised by New Mexicans. One main argument against legalizing the contraband substance, which is still registered as a Schedule 1 narcotic federally, is that its economic impacts would be meager while increased law enforcement and administrative costs associated with implementation would make it financially useless. 

At the time, the Piñon Post made clear that this bill, if implemented, would not even be a drop in the bucket for the state budget, which the Governor desperately wants to be oil and gas-free. In March, we wrote, “Weed, no matter if it passes or not, won’t make the slightest difference in the state’s budget, but Gov. Lujan Grisham sure wants to make New Mexico dependent on drug money–either by 20% taxed dope through her plan–or on the streets through contraband merchants of the product.” 

We reported the following:

According to that leftist legal recreational pot plan’s fiscal impact report, New Mexico would take in at most $15.1 million in revenue after years of losses to implement the program. 

For context, the MOST such a revenue plan would generate in revenue wold be 0.204% of the needed funds to plug the gaping hole in Gov. Lujan Grisham’s budget. 

The oil and gas industry, in contrast, generated $2.8 billion directly to the state general fund in fiscal year 2020. That is approximately 37% of the state’s budget coming from oil and gas.

In states that have already legalized adult-use marijuana, the largest of them being California, the state only brought in a total of $1.5 billion since 2018. The state’s budget is approximately $202 billion.

Now, far-left publications, including the Santa Fe New Mexican, are finally agreeing with the cautionary assessment made by many before the passage of the radical bill. 

On Monday, the New Mexican quoted multiple people in the economic community who said much of the same. Marijuana “will not replace oil or gas,” Sarah Stith, an assistant professor of economics at the University of New Mexico told the paper.

“A lot of [recreational marijuana] revenue is dependent on tourism and consumers’ willingness to pay given the added cost of the tax,” Ismael Torres, senior economist for the Legislative Finance Committee, was quoted. Torres was speaking about the 12% tax on marijuana which the radical Governor’s bill will implement in combination with local taxes (such as in Santa Fe, which is 8.4375%, feeding the black market’s market share due to 20% taxed pot. 

The Legislative Finance Committee in a March fiscal impact report predicted the first full fiscal year of recreational marijuana sales starting in July 2022 would produce an estimated $19.1 million in net tax revenue for the state and $9.4 million for local governments. Fiscal year 2023-24 could see $30.1 million in net state tax revenue and $15.1 million for local governments.

“Legal, homegrown marijuana and continuing black market sales could take further bites from taxable sales, Stith added,” the report said.

“There could be a substantial impact to revenues if more medical-use licenses are sought to avoid the cost of taxes or if medical users begin to purchase cannabis recreationally as accessibility grows,” Torres added. “Shifts between recreational and medical cannabis is a big, unanswered question for us.”

“There will be a lot of supply, but will there be the demand?” James Wheeler, owner of Commercial Properties Inc. in Santa Fe said. “One of my clients said 90 percent of novices going into this are going to fail.”

But the Governor did not pay attention to the economically catastrophic results of marijuana implementation in New Mexico. She did whatever necessary to fulfill her campaign promise to her far-left supporters of “legal weed” — no matter the cost. She said that she would “not take no for an answer” and refused to wait until the next legislative session for a more digestible bill. 

Lujan Grisham took tens of thousands of dollars from the Big Pot lobby, including tens of thousands of dollars from Darren White of PurLife and others.  Many state legislators also took cash from the Big Pot lobby. 

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Data shows marijuana poisoning soaring in New Mexico

4 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

During the 2021 Legislative Session, New Mexico legalized recreational marijuana, which will likely see a boom in the usage of the drug across the state.

According to KOB 4, “From 2014 through 2016, the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center averaged about 70 calls of people consuming too much marijuana. Those numbers doubled from 2017 through 2019.” 

Marijuana-related poisonings have already been on the rise in New Mexico, and with the new law taking place in April of 2022, there will be an even greater boom.

Dr. Susan Smolinske, director of the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center, says the current rise is a combination of availability and acceptability by the public.

“We’re trying to look at our data more closely, we think that our double jump occurred when Colorado legalized recreational marijuana, and we started to see more pediatric accidental exposures,” said Dr. Smolinske.

Kids are at risk of being poisoned by the substance. “We had four severe cases last year and children aged one to two who needed a ventilator,” according to Dr. Smolinske.

Dr. Smolinske urged, “These need to be treated as medications and kept out of reach and locked up away from the kids.” 

The report comes as the State of New Mexico is still formulating rules regarding the implementation of the recently passed recreational pot bill. It is unclear if concerns related to child safety will be put on the docket as items necessary to address in the rollout of the new legal marijuana law.

One marijuana proposal during the 2021 Legialture had a loophole giving minors access to the drug. “ “It is not a violation of the Cannabis Regulation Act when: a parent, a legal guardian or adult spouse of a person under twenty-one years of age serves cannabis products to that person under twenty-one years of age on real property, other than licensed premises, under the control of the parent, legal guardian, or adult spouse,” read the passage. 

As marijuana becomes more readily available on the open market in New Mexico, time will tell if preventative measures by the state will help stave off poisonings. 

Data shows marijuana poisoning soaring in New Mexico Read More »

MLG fundraises off of her newly signed recreational pot bill

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On Tuesday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sent out a fundraising email lauding her signing of the Democrats’ extreme recreational marijuana bill, despite concerns from law enforcement about public safety.

Lujan Grisham relished in the bill’s signing, writing, “I was deeply proud to sign this bill into law because I know it will open up so many opportunities for New Mexico. Opportunities for workers and entrepreneurs to build prosperous careers. Opportunities to generate more revenue for state and local governments. And opportunities to mend the harm done by the failed war on drugs – which has taken a disproportionate toll on communities of color.” 

She claimed the bill is just what she was “dreaming of” when she introduced her extreme proposals before the legislative session, many of which she got, including abortion up to birth, assisted suicide legalization, raiding the permanent fund for free daycare, among other extreme measures.

“This is the kind of change I’m dreaming of when I talk about building a brighter future for New Mexico – a win-win that allows both individuals and communities to thrive. Together, we’ll keep fighting to make our bold agenda a reality. This session, we’ve proven that it’s possible.” 

Then she made an appeal for cash, writing that she wanted to hit a $10,000 fundraising goal, asking, “If you supported legalizing cannabis in New Mexico, will you donate $15 or more right now to keep our state blue?” 

It is unclear if Lujan Grisham’s appeal to her far-left supporters will yield success, but Democrats did everything they could to ram through the bill but failed in epic proportions by not getting it through the regular session. The initial failure resulted in the Governor calling a hurried special session to ram the bill through in record time and signing the proposal as fast as she could. 

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Gov. MLG signs recreational marijuana bill despite concerns

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On Monday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed H.B. 2, which was rammed through the Legislature in a special session specifically called for recreational marijuana passage after the body failed to pass the bill in the regular session. 

The Governor called the bill, “a major, major step forward for our state. Legalized adult-use cannabis is going to change the way we think about New Mexico for the better – our workforce, our economy, our future.”

She added, “We are going to increase consumer safety by creating a bona fide industry. We’re going to start righting past wrongs of this country’s failed war on drugs. And we’re going to break new ground in an industry that may well transform New Mexico’s economic future for the better.”

The New Mexico Senate passed the Senate by a vote of 22-15, with two Democrat senators, Bobby Gonzales (D-Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, and Taos) and Shannon Pinto (D-McKinley & San Juan), voting with Republicans against it.

However, the most such a bill would bring in to the state would be peanuts compared to the bloated state budget that currently sits at $7.4 billion. Proceeds from the sale of recreational marijuana would only contribute a maximum of 0.204% of the state’s needed budget or $15.1 million in the best year.

According to one report, “The state would levy a 12% excise tax on sales to start, and the tax would grow to 18% over time. Gross receipts taxes would also be added on, pushing the total tax rate to 20% to 26% overall.” 

Both chambers of the Legislature also adopted separate legislation to subsidize the Big Pot industry with $7 million in cash, despite the Governor claiming the industry would bring in money to the state. 

Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Doña Ana), who was conveniently absent for the final vote on H.B. 2, said, “This bill is not ready, this policy is not ready, New Mexico is not ready,” showing his concern that legalization will do more harm than good in a state plagued by drug and alcohol addiction.

“We’re not really genuinely here to debate the bill or improve the bill,” said Sen. Cervantes, D-Las Cruces. “We’re here to pass the bill.”

The Senate Democrats decisively killed just every amendment to their radical bill proposed by Republicans. Thankfully for minors in New Mexico, the previous language in prior bills allowing parents to legally provide cannabis to children under 21 was removed from the currency legislation.

The bill, however, allows adults over 21 to grow their own pot plants for personal use up to six for personal use and twelve for household use, which will expose children and minors to marijuana.

New Mexico is the 16th state to legalize recreational dope, following New York and fourteen other states. Law enforcers and family-based groups have noted how the bill would lead to more people using narcotics in the state, while these drugs will be more readily accessible to youth. These concerns fell on deaf ears by the Democrats in the Legislature and Lujan Grisham.

READ NEXT: Deep-pocketed marijuana lobby banking on Legislature’s proposals to legalize weed

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Law enforcers concerned over NM’s new recreational marijuana bill

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The New Mexico Legislature rammed through Democrats’ H.B. 2, the Cannabis Regulation Act, during a special session called by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham after lawmakers in the Democrat-dominated Legislature failed to pass it during the regular session. Traditionally, special sessions are only called for emergencies and urgent matters such as natural disasters or pandemics.

The newly passed recreational marijuana law, which is likely to be signed into law any day now by the Governor, has many in law enforcement wary of the law opening the door for even more corrosive illicit drugs such as methamphetamine and crack cocaine being fast-tracked to legalization. 

Lea County Sheriff Corey Helton told the Carlsbad Current-Argus that he “feared the passage of legislation to legalize the use of recreational cannabis in New Mexico could be the first step in decriminalizing other current illegal substances.” He said he would “expect more of this” in the future, leading the state down a slippery slope.

Former FBI agent and current Roswell Mayor Dennis Kintigh said narcotics legalization is a destructive road to go down. 

“People who have never dealt with a family of a meth user have no concept of how destructive that drug is. Same thing for heroin and that’s the problem. These people who have these rose-colored glasses concept, ‘well it’s only a problem because it’s illegal,’ no it’s illegal because they’re problems,” he said.

“The reality is there’s a huge drug problem here in New Mexico. I believe the drug problem really flows from behavioral health issues and this has done nothing to make it better. This is basically the state serving as an enabler to encourage those who are in bad shape having real issues to continue to wallow in a situation that will ultimately destroy them.”

In states such as Colorado, which have legalized recreational weed, it has seen a dramatic increase in violent crime, traffic fatalities, and marijuana hospitalizations. And usage by minors – sometimes fatal, from eating poorly regulated marijuana candies has increased. 

“The bottom line is it’s a scheduled one narcotic. Whether you agree with it or not, it’s still on the schedule one for federal. Which means there is no use for it whatsoever and that hasn’t changed and that’s not going to change for a while,” said Eddy County Sheriff Mark Cage. 

He noted how New Mexico’s new law puts banks in jeopardy because on the federal level, financial institutions cannot do business with entities selling the illicit drug, per federal law. 

“Because they’re FDIC insured. So, they can’t do that. They’re not allowed to do that,” said Cage. “You want to legalize dope, smoke it, eat it. That’s great. The problem is it’s still illegal federally and it still has all these weird implications that we have to deal with.”

“Because our governor wanted this, and I have to wonder exactly why? Is it a money thing? It’s not definitely a money thing for our state economy, right? Is it a money thing for individuals? Or is it for votes? Maybe that’s what is. I don’t know. I’m astounded by it,” added Cage.

The new law is sure to add roadblocks for local law enforcers and leave financial institutions liable, something that Cage called the Governor putting “the cart before the horse.” It is unclear what the next step is for the Legislature in the legalization of narcotics, but if the recent legislative session proved anything, the Democrats have the votes to ram through just about anything they want. 

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Dem-dominated Legislature rams through extreme recreational weed bill heavily subsidizing Big Pot

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On Wednesday, the New Mexico Legislature passed Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s radical recreational marijuana legalization bill, which will give the green light to the use of the illicit drug in the State of New Mexico, a major blow to commerce, law enforcement, and child safety in the state.

The New Mexico Senate passed the Senate by a vote of 22-15, with two Democrat senators, Bobby Gonzales (D-Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, and Taos) and Shannon Pinto (D-McKinley & San Juan), voting with Republicans against it.

The Governor called the bill’s passage by the Legislature a “significant victory for New Mexico,” writing that “Workers will benefit from the opportunity to build careers in this new economy. Entrepreneurs will benefit from the opportunity to create lucrative new enterprises. The state and local governments will benefit from the additional revenue. Consumers will benefit from the standardization and regulation that comes with a bona fide industry.” 

However, the most such a bill would bring in to the state would be peanuts compared to the bloated state budget that currently sits at $7.4 billion. Proceeds from the sale of recreational marijuana would only contribute a maximum of 0.204% of the state’s needed budget or $15.1 million in the best year.

According to one report, “The state would levy a 12% excise tax on sales to start, and the tax would grow to 18% over time. Gross receipts taxes would also be added on, pushing the total tax rate to 20% to 26% overall.” 

Both chambers of the Legislature also adopted separate legislation to subsidize the Big Pot industry with $7 million in cash, despite the Governor claiming the industry would bring in money to the state. 

The vehicle used to push through weed, H.B. 2, co-sponsored by Rep. Javier Martinez (D-Bernalillo) and Sen. Katy Duhigg (D-Bernalillo), was ultimately voted on to move forward over Sen. Cliff Pirtle’s (R-Chaves, Eddy, and Otero) competing proposal, which died.

Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Doña Ana), who was conveniently absent for the final vote on H.B. 2, said, “This bill is not ready, this policy is not ready, New Mexico is not ready,” showing his concern that legalization will do more harm than good in a state plagued by drug and alcohol addiction.

“We’re not really genuinely here to debate the bill or improve the bill,” said Sen. Cervantes, D-Las Cruces. “We’re here to pass the bill.”

The Senate Democrats decisively killed just every amendment to their radical bill proposed by Republicans. Thankfully for minors in New Mexico, the previous language in prior bills allowing parents to legally provide cannabis to children under 21 was removed from the currency legislation.

The bill, however, allows adults over 21 to grow their own pot plants for personal use up to six for personal use and twelve for household use, which will expose children and minors to marijuana.

After the Senate passed the controversial bill following its first passage in the House, the House voted to concur on the bill. It now goes to Gov. Lujan Grisham’s desk, where she is no doubt happily waiting to sign the extreme measure. New Mexico is the 16th state to legalize recreational dope, following New York and fourteen other states. 

Dem-dominated Legislature rams through extreme recreational weed bill heavily subsidizing Big Pot Read More »

Dems want NM taxpayers to subsidize recreational pot bill with over $7M in funds

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On Tuesday, the New Mexico Legislature met for the Governor’s special session on recreational marijuana legalization. She and her party failed to pass it through the Legislature despite having big majorities in both chambers.

The bill, which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has promised will be a money-maker for the state through the sale of marijuana, turns out to be an apparent scam to subsidize the industry heavily.

As reported earlier, the upfront cost for implementing the marijuana industry, according to the previous 2021 session’s fiscal impact report, was $659,400 in 2022. However, the newly resurrected pot bill in this current legislative session paints a wildly different picture, forcing the state to delve out millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to prop up Big Pot.

The current bill introduced this special session calls for $1.7 million to the Regulation and Licensing Department to “administer” the bill, $750,000 to the Department of Public Safety for “drug recognition expert field certification for law enforcement,” $4 million to the Taxation and Revenue Department for expenditures in the 2021 and 2022 fiscal years, $500,000 to the Administrative Office of the Courts to help address with expungement of records, among other costs.

Just on face-value, the taxpayers of New Mexico would be on the hook for nearly $7 million to implement this costly industry, which was promised to be revenue-generating. 

However, according to the previous fiscal impact report for the bill that died in the first legislative session of 2021, by the fiscal year 2024, the flailing industry would only produce at most $15 million in net revenue to the state, which, if current spending levels remain, would only amount to 0.204% of the funds needed to fund the government. 

Rep. Stefani Lord (R-Bernalillo, Sandoval, and Santa Fe) was not pleased with the Democrats’ proposal, writing on Facebook, “We’ve been told marijuana will be revenue positive but now, in the middle of Special Session (that has been called in the middle of a Holiday week), we learn last-minute that the state will subsidize the marijuana industry with millions of taxpayer dollars. This is far from open transparent government!” 

Lujan Grisham’s allies in the Legislature hope to pass the bill within a matter of days without much care for Republican input. H.B. 2, the pot bill, passed the House Judiciary Committee at around 1 a.m. on Wednesday by 7-4 after it flew through the House Taxation and Revenue Committee on Tuesday by a vote of 8-4.

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Special session marijuana bill could have loophole giving minors access to drugs

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On Tuesday, the New Mexico Legislature will reconvene at the behest of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to reconsider a bill legalizing recreational marijuana. However, there is much confusion about what the bill under consideration is going to cover since conflicting pieces of legislation have been distributed to state legislators. One draft appears to grant minors access to marijuana through a loophole.

Sen. George Munñoz (D-Cibola, McKinley, and San Juan) told the Santa Fe New Mexican, “They were supposed to send us a copy of it today. I really don’t know what it’s going to look like. Every time I went to read one [a cannabis bill] during the session, every four hours they had a different bill.”

Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Doña Ana), who serves as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said, “Nobody is saying the bill is ready and should be passed from top to bottom.”

On Monday, Cervantes tweeted out, “To those calling and messaging me on marijuana legislation for special session tomorrow. I’m told we’ll get a new rewritten bill today, which addresses all issues I and others identified in our Judiciary Committee hearing during the regular session.” 

According to the Carlsbad Current-Argus, Cervantes said the bill might be split in two, with one portion dealing with recreational marijuana legalization, while another deals with “social justice” aspects to expunge records of past drug offenses. 

“You can understand how some legislators might vote for the licensing bill, but be against criminal justice reforms; and conversely, some vote the criminal justice reforms and against the licensing bill,” Cervantes said. “There are some Republicans who have said they support the principle of legalization, but may have problems expunging records and letting people out of jail.”

However, there is no certainty the bill will have the support to pass the Senate, with the Santa Fe New Mexican warning of how risky prior special sessions called by governors have been, notably Gov. Gary Johnson, who reconvened the Legislature to fix budgetary issues while falling short on a push to “close a loophole in state gasoline tax law that allowed Indian tribes to sell wholesale gas tax-free.” 

“There are plenty of ideas and, with Easter approaching, precious little time. We’ll see whether legislators can build a new industry, or just blow smoke,” wrote the New Mexican’s editorial board. 

Senator Gregg Schmedes (R-Bernalillo, Sandoval, Santa Fe, and Torrance) shared on his Facebook page what appears to be a Democrat version of the marijuana bill in contention, where it reads “It is not a violation of the Cannabis Regulation Act when: a parent, a legal guardian or adult spouse of a person under twenty-one years of age serves cannabis products to that person under twenty-one years of age on real property, other than licensed premises, under the control of the parent, legal guardian, or adult spouse.” Schmedes wrote, “Apparently Dems like the idea of giving marijuana to minors. Might want to talk to the CDC or WHO or just about any doctor first.”

Also concerning members of the New Mexico Senate is whether Pro Tem Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo) will force “sensitivity training” down members’ throats after she was distraught after debating Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto over a bill regarding paid medical leave. She couldn’t answer basic questions about her bill and claimed Ivey-Soto was “abusive.” 

One Republican senator told the Piñon Post that he would reject the training if asked to do it. The senator wrote, “Ha. I will refuse. I don’t force them to do common-sense training.” 

As the special session approaches, the Governor has made it crystal clear that she is not taking “no” for an answer, and the recreational pot industry has made it clear that “social justice” provisions of the bill are “absolutely required.” 

House Republican Leader Jim Townsend said in a statement, “The past sixty days have been defined by the Governor and Democrats silencing the voice of the people, and the silence has become deafening following the crash and burn of their pot bill.”

“If legalizing marijuana is truly about the people, you would think that New Mexicans from all walks of life would have the opportunity to contribute to the process, especially when it failed so miserable[y] at the last minute due to too many cooks in the kitchen. Transparency is key to the public good, and so far all I can tell you is that transparency in this building is on shaky ground.”

Read more about Big Pot’s donations to legislators’ campaigns here.

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