marijuana Archives - Page 3 of 3

Recreational weed supporters claim the term ‘marijuana’ is racist

4 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Sunday, the Las Cruces Sun ran an article talking about Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s recreational marijuana legalization push and the terminology that the dope industry has been using to euphemize marijuana: “cannabis.”

The article claims that many industry leaders prefer the term “cannabis,” which is the drug’s scientific term to “marijuana” “given the term’s association with criminality as well as racist animus toward Latino and other non-white social groups.”

“It played into branding immigrants as a problem and it played into branding people of color as a threat to white America,” claimed New Mexico Cannabis Chamber of Commerce executive director Ben Lewinger. He added, “I think we absolutely need to stop saying ‘marijuana’ — today.”

Lewinger also claims that using the term “recreational” is also discriminatory, saying, “Some advocates say the crude distinction between ‘recreational’ and ‘medicinal’ use has the effect of stigmatizing those who use cannabis without a physician’s signature or a state-minted medical cannabis card.”

“I would say a lot of people who use cannabis ‘recreationally’ are using it to help them sleep, or for stress relief, or for anxiety reduction, or for pain management even if they’re not enrolled in the medical program right now,” Lewinger said.

Regarding the terms “black market,” “illicit market,” or “illegal market” marijuana, Lewinger claims that what makes these terms offensive to him is the fact that “what is illicit or unlawful gets decided by who writes the laws — i.e., who holds power.” Essentially, he thinks that because white men hold places of power in government, the very act of not legalizing recreational weed is racist.

“The medical cannabis industry, which is largely owned by white men — they’re still engaging in federally illegal activity right now,” Lewinger said, “but we don’t talk about it in the same way that we would of a person of color growing and selling cannabis.”

“When we talk about undoing the harms of the war on drugs that has disproportionately impacted Black and brown people in the United States, part of that is acknowledging that it’s very much those people of color who are now in jail who are the trailblazers for cannabis in the United States,” says Lewinger.

Previously, while speaking on the “New Mexico Grass” podcast, Lewinger said that the left-wing social justice aspects of a marijuana bill are “super important” and “absolutely required” for the bill. He said, “We absolutely have to do that.”

He also said that he thought the Democrats’ recreational marijuana bill had an 88% to 100% chance of passing during a special session of the New Mexico Legislature.

Gov. Lujan Grisham has announced a special session to commence on March 30 to hash out the marijuana bill, as well as an economic development program, which is likely to extend through Holy Week ahead of Easter.

Recreational weed supporters claim the term ‘marijuana’ is racist Read More »

NM pot org chief: ‘social justice’ provisions of special session weed bill ‘absolutely required’

Leave a Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Thursday’s episode of a startup podcast called “New Mexico Grass,” the show featured the New Mexico Cannabis Chamber of Commerce executive director Ben Lewinger to talk about marijuana legalization and his thoughts on New Mexico politics. The Chamber’s members include Big Pot donors to many legislators’ campaigns, such as PurLife and Nature RX.

During the interview, Lewinger was asked why it has taken so long to get close to a recreational marijuana bill passing. In his answer, he characterized rural areas of the state that lean Republican as stigmatized, claiming, “New Mexico is a hard blue state — a very progressive state, but once you get out of the urban areas of Las Cruces, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe, New Mexico is rural and conservative. And I think still the stigma around cannabis as an illicit substance is very much alive and well.”

He also blasted New Mexico’s citizen legislature, saying, “You know, for several reasons, New Mexico is not a state that is one that is set up to get things done quickly. Right?! We have — we’re the last state that has a volunteer legislature. If you look at, like, you know, California, those are full-time jobs.”

He added, “We’re the last state with volunteer legislators, and they meet 30 and 60 days alternating each year compared to California where it’s like Congress where they’re in session most of the year, and they can just get a lot more done.”

“I think New Mexico still very much suffers from this idea that we don’t have the same ability to create our own reality as other states do,” said Lewinger.

Regarding the marijuana proposal’s left-wing social justice aspects, Lewinger said these portions of the bill are “super important” and “absolutely required” for the bill. He said, “We absolutely have to do that.”

“The way we’re trying to do it creates a mechanism for us to incorporate a lot of the very important social equity pieces, but it doesn’t mean that it’s the easiest way to do it. And that’s why, you know, we worked for several years to figure out how to create this legislative vehicle to get it done,” he said.

Later in the interview, Lewinger said that he thought the Democrats’ recreational marijuana bill had an 88% to 100% chance of passing during a special session of the New Mexico Legislature.

When asked about cannabis legalization on the national level, Lewinger said that he doesn’t expect Joe Biden to legalize cannabis nationwide. However, he says he will take it off the “schedule,” thereby decriminalizing it.

Lewinger then said, “I think the next Democratic president — Kamala Harris — will probably legalize cannabis.”

Gov. MLG’s dreams of New Mexico getting hooked on drug money

1 Comment / New Mexico, News, Opinion, Politics / By John Block

On Monday. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sent out a tweet reaffirming her plan to transform New Mexico’s economy from a fuel and energy-based economy with our booming oil, gas, and coal sectors to heavily reliant on drug money from overtaxed marijuana.

The Governor failed to ram through her proposed legal weed bill in the 2021 Legislative Session, so in a desperate move to “not take no for an answer,” she will force the Legislature to reconvene in a “special session” to pass recreational weed legislation.

“I believe legalization of adult-use cannabis will be one of the largest job-creation programs in New Mexico history, driving entrepreneurial opportunities statewide for decades to come. It’s clear that New Mexicans are ready – let’s get it done,” the Governor wrote on Twitter.

It is clear that even the most “progressive” far-left plan for the Governor to ram through legalized pot wouldn’t even make the tiniest dent in New Mexico’s revenues with the current budget sitting at a bloated $7.4 billion — yes, BILLION.

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.

Gov. Lujan Grisham’s push for weed comes as she and her allies in the Democrat-dominated Legislature have pushed the most aggressive anti-energy policies aimed at driving the oil and gas industry out of the state in its entirety.

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.

Gov. MLG threatens special session as early as Wednesday to ram through recreational pot bill

1 Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

Legislators worked into the wee hours of the morning on Saturday debating legislation, with many bills still bottlenecked on the House and Senate floor calendars as the end of the legislative session comes at 12:00 noon.

Much of the debate was on HJR 1, which seeks to raid the land grant permanent fund for “early childhood education,” better known as taxpayer-funded daycare.

Right after midnight, the House of Representatives voted on a proposal, S.B. 304, relating to voting district geographic data, which was amended on the floor to create an independent redistricting commission. The amended compromise bill between a bipartisan and Democrat-led proposal takes the power of redistricting away from the dark rooms of the Roundhouse and opens it up to the public in a fair, less partisan way. After a lively debate, the bill passed 64-2 with Rep. Eliseo Alcon (D-Cibola & McKinley) and Majority Leader Sheryl Stapleton (D-Bernalillo) voting against the bill.

In a previous committee, Alcon complained about an independent commission taking away representatives’ “rights” to redraw their own districts, saying, “I don’t think it’s our duty to give up our rights.” He did not like the idea of a seven-member commission making the decisions, not him. “If these seven people really want to be part of the redistricting, then they should run for our spots,” he said, adding, “I will be a solid no matter how you look at it,” despite the majority of people in the committee hearing in support of giving more power to the people.

Due to the bottleneck of radical Democrat legislation, it was revealed in the wee hours of the morning that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham intends to call a special session as early as Wednesday to ram through her extreme recreational marijuana bill, according to one representative.

The Albuquerque Journal confirmed this, with the Governor’s communications director Tripp Stelnicki saying that a special session could be called “sooner rather than later,” adding “there was a largely-agreed upon framework in place between the Governor’s Office and lawmakers.”

“Nobody wants to wait another year — it’s too close to being done,” said Stelnicki.

However, it doesn’t look like the Wagyu steak-eating Governor cares much about the political ramifications of her actions, despite a special session being “politically risky,” with a daily cost of around $50,000 per day, according to the Journal.

After it was revealed the Governor intends to call a special session, the New Mexico House Republicans wrote, “UNBELIEVABLE. After spending $2 million on a fence blocking YOU from the Roundhouse for a year- Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has FAILED to get her showpiece marijuana bill across the line. She now says she will call us back next week. Taxpayers, the Gov’s agenda is on your dime.”

Other bills are still stuck on the House and Senate calendars, including S.B. 11, the gas tax on the poor, S.B. 316 to harvest “gender” and “sexual identity” data from New Mexicans, and S.B. 230 instituting racism in state agencies and many other proposals, which as the clock ticks on look dead in the water.

TODAY: Legislators scramble to ram through gas tax on the poor, recreational pot bills

Leave a Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Thursday, legislators stayed up late to duke it out over bills regarding a ballot initiative to raid New Mexico’s permanent fund and pass through a trapping ban on public lands. The question of whether to raid the permanent fund will go to the voters in the next election and the trapping ban bill goes to the Governor’s desk. The body also debated H.B. 20, the “Healthy Workplaces Act,” where Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto (D-Bernalillo) and Pro-Tem Mimi Stewart continued their feud. The bill passed by 25-16.

However, there are many hotly contested bills that Democrats still hope to ram through in their dead-of-night, closed-door legislative process, including initiatives to harvest gender and sexual identity information from citizens, legalize recreational marijuana, and pass a radical gas tax on the poor.

Recreational Marijuana Bill

The extreme pot bill, H.B. 12, finally was pushed through its final committee this week after Chairman Joseph Cervantes was “pushed” by Democrat leadership to hear the bill and fast-track it so it could reach the full Senate before the session closes at noon on Saturday.

This marijuana legalization bill according to the bill sponsor, Rep. Javier Martinez (D-Bernalillo) “makes for the perfect conditions if you will. I don’t think the opportunity has ever been better than it is now to pass a legalization bill.” He says New Mexico needs the bill to cover for gaps in the budget, despite revenue projections being astronomically lower with recreational legalization of pot in states that have legalized it like the state of Colorado.

The revenue projections from the fiscal impact report claim in 2022 the law will increase state revenues by $15,186,000. Mind you, the state’s projected budget is over $7 billion, meaning pot legalization would only make up 0.2% of revenues. Even with the bill’s higher projections of $35,128,400 in revenues by 2024, that would only be approximately 0.5% of the needed revenues for a state budget projected at $7 billion.

Pro-family groups such as the Family Policy Alliance are organizing against the legalized pot bills, making the case that, “Since Colorado legalized recreational weed, our neighboring state 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 soared.”

The Senate will likely vote on the proposal Friday after a long debate. The bill, if passed through the chamber, would need to make its way back over to the House of Representatives for the lower chamber to approve the amendments made in the Senate before hitting the Governor’s desk. It is unclear if all of this can be achieved in a single day.

Find and contact your legislator to oppose the bill by clicking here.

Gas Tax on the Poor

The extreme gas tax on the poor, S.B. 11, passed the House Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee on a party-line vote, despite concerns of New Mexicans’ gas prices being hiked by 20+ cents — harming poor and middle-class New Mexicans the most.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo) callously dismissed these concerns, claiming that in other states who have implemented these extreme policies, “Gas is cheaper now than when they started.”

That was a lie.

“When everybody talks about, ‘Oh the poor are gonna be hurt,’ I do believe the poor care about the climate,” said Stewart.

Despite the concerns from poor New Mexicans, the committee advanced her bill, which is scheduled to be heard today on the House floor.

Find and contact your legislator to oppose the bill by clicking here.

Harvesting Gender and Sexual Identity Info

This extreme bill, S.B. 316, brought forth by Sen. Carrie Hamblen (D-Doña Ana) harvests gender and sexual identity information from New Mexicans, putting more information into the hands of the state government, for them to use for whatever they want. The bill is mostly copy/pasted from a California bill, Assembly Bill 677 from 2017, and would put this private information in the hands of government bad actors who could weaponize this data against New Mexicans.

The House of Representatives will likely consider this bill today

Find and contact your legislator to oppose the bill by clicking here.

TODAY: Legislators scramble to ram through gas tax on the poor, recreational pot bills Read More »

Legislative Update: $7.4B budget passes Senate, anti-police bill heads to Governor’s desk

Leave a Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

Wednesday was busy at the Legislature, with many bills being rushed through the Senate and the House, with many extreme bills moving forward. Here are just some bills that were advanced:

ANTI-POLICE BILL

H.B. 4, sponsored by Speaker of the House Brian Egolf, is a radical bill that would directly line Egolf’s pockets. The civil litigation brought forth from the bill against law enforcers will send lucrative business to civil rights lawyers like Egolf.

In doing so, the bill would bankrupt local communities and create a hostile environment for police officers. During testimony on the bill during the committee process, many law enforcers spoke up to talk about how the bill would put targets on their backs and force many peace officers to flee the state for less hostile areas of the country.

On Wednesday afternoon, the House of Representatives voted 43-26 on a mostly party-line vote. It now goes to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk, where she is expected to sign it.

Read more about the bill here.

HUGE $7.4 BILLION BUDGET PASSES SENATE

H.B. 2, the “General Appropriations Act,” passed the New Mexico Senate after a lengthy debate between Republicans and Democrats, with Democrats looking to fill more pork and radical funding mechanisms into the bill, while Republicans sought to amend the bill to cut off funding for abortions while also lowering Gov. Lujan Grisham’s contingency fund.

Sen. Bill Sharer (R-San Juan) called the $7.4 billion pork-filled budget “bloated”

“I’ll remind this body that just a year or so ago, we built a budget about the same amount, and then we had to have a special session … to shore up the budget,” said Sen. Bill Burt (R-Chaves, Lincoln, and Otero) “I think we spent about half the reserves, about $800 million, and y’all correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s a lot of money. Currently, our reserves at this level are $1.76 billion. If we have another downturn like that, that’s going to be a little tough.”

Radical Democrat Sen. Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez sponsored amendments to double the cost-of-living adjustment for state workers to 3 percent and another to raise the wages of any state government employee who makes less than $15 an hour to at least $15.

The spending plan passed on a 29-13 vote. Two Republicans, Sen. Steve Neville (R-San Juan) and Sen. Pat Woods (R-Curry, Quay, and Union) voted with Democrats voted to support the budget.

RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA BILL HEADS TO SENATE FLOOR

On early Thursday morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance House Bill 12 sponsored by Reps. Javier Martinez (D-Bernalillo) and Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe), an extreme recreational pot legalization bill, on a 5-4 vote. The bill was amended to include “new provisions allowing for a three-year cap on plant production and requiring an independent testing organization to regularly test the product for safety purposes,” according to a report.

“I don’t believe your bill has been very carefully read,” said Sen. Joseph Cervantes to the bill sponsors during the committee meeting. He voted with Republicans against the bill.

If the bill passes the New Mexico Senate and then gets signed into law, the State of New Mexico would begin issuing licenses on March 1, 2022.

Find out out what representatives and senators are bankrolled by the marijuana lobby.

ACTION ALERT:

In these final hours of the New Mexico Legislature, extreme proposals are still making their way through. Please contact your legislators today and ask them to oppose these measures that are on the calendar:

S.B. 11 — the “Clean Fuel Standards Act,” also known as the gas tax on the poor sponsored by Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo) would result in a gas price increase of 20+ cents per gallon on New Mexicans. Contact your NM House Representative to oppose this bill.

S.B. 230 — the “Institutional Racism In State Agencies” bill sponsored by Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Bernalillo) “SB230 directs each state agency or entity that receives state funding to annually develop and submit a plan to address institutional racism as part of its annual final budget submission. SB230 would require copies of the annual plans to be provided to the Legislature, the Legislative Finance Committee, and the Courts, Corrections, & Justice Committee,” according to the Fiscal Impact Report.

This bill would foster racism within state agencies based upon arbitrary attributes that employees cannot control. This would further bureaucratize New Mexico state agencies and waste hard-earned taxpayer money on programs that do not directly benefit the state in any way, shape, or form. Contact your NM House Representative to oppose this bill.

S.B. 316 — “Gender and Orientation Data Collection” by Sen. Carrie Hamblen (D-Doña Ana) harvests “gender identity” and “sexual identity” information from New Mexicans through every state agency, which would put this private information in the hands of government bad actors who could weaponize this data against New Mexicans. Contact your NM House Representative to oppose this bill.

Legislative Update: $7.4B budget passes Senate, anti-police bill heads to Governor’s desk Read More »

Legislative Update: Recreational pot, gas tax hike bills to be heard in committee Tuesday

Leave a Comment / Action Alert / By John Block

With less than two weeks left in the 2021 Legislative Session, there are many bills being rammed through committees by Democrats in both chambers, and here are some key pieces of legislation that will be heard in committee on Tuesday:

SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE
SENATOR GEORGE MUÑOZ, CHAIRMAN – Tuesday, March 9, 2021, 9:30 a.m.

S.B. 11 CLEAN FUEL STANDARD ACT (also known as the 20-cent gas tax on the poor act) by Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo).

The bill puts extreme clean fuel standards on businesses that produce or import transportation fuels and fuels used in motor vehicles. The restrictions on these companies would force them to invest in costly upgrades to their fuel standards, meaning these costs would transfer to the consumers. The bill also adds vague and sweeping “enviro-justice” provisions to state law.

In California and Oregon, where clean fuel standards are already in place, there are already increased costs of up to 24 cents per gallon on gas, which directly hurts poor consumers.

Call these Senators and ask them to oppose S.B. 11–the gas tax on the poor and the middle classes.

George Munoz (D), Chair, 505-397-8836, senatormunoz@gmail.com
Nancy Rodriguez (D), Vice Chair, 505-397-8844, nancy.rodriguez@nmlegis.gov
William E. Sharer (R), Ranking Member, 505-986-4381, bill@williamsharer.com
William F. Burt (R), 505-986-4366, bill.burt@nmlegis.gov
Pete Campos (D), 505-397-8818, pete.campos@nmlegis.gov
Jacob Candelaria (D), 505-397-8819, jacob.candelaria@nmlegis.gov
Crystal R. Diamond (R), 505-986-4703, crystal.diamond@nmlegis.gov
Roberto “Bobby” Gonzales (D), 505-397-8825, Roberto.gonzales@nmlegis.gov
Siah Correa Hemphill (D), 505-397-8821, siah.hemphill@nmlegis.gov
Jeff Steinborn (D), 505-397-8852, jeff.steinborn@nmlegis.gov
Pat Woods (R), 986-4393, pat.woods@nmlegis.gov

On Monday, the committee took public comment on S.B. 11, but committee debate and the final committee vote was rolled over to Tuesday. There is still time to email senators to oppose the bill.

TAX, BUSINESS AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

Senator Benny Shendo Jr., Chair – Tuesday, March 9, 2021 – 1:30 p.m. or 15 minutes after floor session – Virtual Zoom Meeting

H.B. 12 CANNABIS REGULATION ACT by Rep. Javier Martinez (D-Bernalillo) and Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe). This marijuana legalization bill according to the bill sponsor, “makes for the perfect conditions if you will. I don’t think the opportunity has ever been better than it is now to pass a legalization bill.” He says New Mexico needs the bill to cover for gaps in the budget, despite revenue projections being astronomically lower with recreational legalization of pot in states that have legalized it like the state of Colorado.

S.B. 288 CANNABIS REGULATION ACT by Sen. Cliff Pirtle (R-Chaves, Eddy and Otero) does much of the same that Rep. Martinez’s bill would, however, it would bring in even less revenue, operating at a net loss of over $2 million from the state’s General Fund in fiscal year 2022 and the most it would bring in for the state would be $8,078,400 in fiscal year 2024, as projected in the fiscal impact report. Local governments’ tax revenue would be higher than the state’s.

ENMU regent takes a stand against recreational pot

2 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Saturday, Dan Patterson, a 50-plus year educator, and current Eastern New Mexico University regent wrote an op-ed for the Santa Fe New Mexican relaying why he thought the recreational marijuana bills in the Legislature are wrong for New Mexico.

“During my career, I have worked with more than a hundred thousand students, helping them through difficult times through counseling and the disciplinary process. I can say through firsthand experience that I believe approving recreational marijuana will bring extreme harm to a tremendous number of our youth,” said Patterson.

Patterson noted that even though proposals currently have the age limit for recreational pot at 21, younger New Mexicans will still get access. “We all know, if we are honest, that if older brother has legal access, then younger brother also has access,” he wrote.

“I have seen too many kids get caught up in drugs that begins with the casual use of marijuana. Good kids suddenly start changing. Grades drop, attitudes change, dropouts increase, behavior changes, and disciplinary problems and auto accidents increase. Before long, good kids become troublemakers, get lost or flounder. Potentially productive members of society become druggies, criminals or just dregs of society. I have seen too many promising lives lost this way.”

“Not every kid who smokes marijuana goes down this path, but it happens far too often. Why are we so eager to bring such potential harm to so many of our youngsters? Money? Are we really willing to sell the health and well being of so many of our youngsters for greenbacks?”

“Throughout this pandemic I kept hearing that if we can save a single life through a certain regulation that it would be worth it. Well, authorizing the use of recreational marijuana will, without a doubt, lead to the loss of many lives, particularly among our youth — if not through actual death then through the loss of otherwise productive, contributing assets.”

The op-ed comes as the New Mexico Senate mulls a bill, H.B. 12, which narrowly passed the house, and would be one of the most expansive marijuana bills proposed this session. Democrat leaders in the Senate see it as the best shot to ram through marijuana legalization. Multiple other bills also aim to legalize pot.

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

3 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Monday, state Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto (D-Bernalillo) introduced a proposal, S.B. 13, to legalize marijuana for recreational use in adults.

He said, “The reason I decided to do it this time is I got frustrated with the fact that I think people want us to do this in pretty high numbers,” and he wanted to propose a bill that “would pass,” as Democrats’ previous attempts to legalize the drug have been met with large opposition on both sides of the aisle. His bill would tax the substance an extreme 21%, which may, in fact, promote the illegal sale of the drug on the street due to the unaffordable price with taxes.

Ivey Soto received $1,000 from PurLife, a marijuana dispensary headed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham “maxed out” donor Darren White, in his 2020 bid for re-election.

Other members of the Legislature have also proposed marijuana legalization bills, including Sen. Cliff Pirtle (R-Chaves, Eddy, and Otero), whose bill, S.B. 288, wants to legalize marijuana and leave private companies such as PurLife with the distribution. Pirtle proposes a 2% excise tax on top of local gross receipts tax on the drug. He received $2,500.00 from PurLife and $1,000 from another marijuana company, Natural RX, in his 2020 bid for re-election.

In an interview months before the 2018 election, which Gov. Lujan Grisham won, PurLife’s Darren White said “Our company got behind Michelle pretty early and we maxed out [its allowable contributions] quickly.” Now, the governor is trying to make it a top-priority to ram through her marijuana bill to fulfill her 2018 campaign promise made to both the voters and to marijuana dispensaries like PurLife. She failed to do so in 2019 and 2020, however, due to more moderate Democrats leaving the chamber due to the Governor running primary challenges against them in the 2020 election, she has a better shot at legalizing weed in the state.

Another legislator who is sponsoring a bill for legalized pot is Rep. Javier Martinez (D-Bernalillo), who said of his bill that “It makes for the perfect conditions if you will. I don’t think the opportunity has ever been better than it is now to pass a legalization bill.” He says New Mexico needs the bill to cover for gaps in the budget.

Martinez received $5,000 from Darren White’s PurLife for his 2020 re-election bid to the state House.

UPDATE: The New Mexico Legislature will meet on March 30 for Gov. Lujan Grisham’s special session to force through recreational marijuana since the Governor and her allies failed to pass it in the regular 60-day session.

Other members of the Legislature who received campaign donations from PurLife in the 2020 election cycle:

Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino (D-Santa Fe): $1,000

Rep. Kelly Fajardo (R-Valencia) $1,000

Rep. Deborah Armstrong (D-Bernalillo) $1,000

Rep. Rod Montoya (R-Farmington) $1,000

Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Doña Ana) $1,000

New Mexico Senate Democrats $5,000

Rep. Harry Garcia (D-Bernalillo, Cibola, McKinley, Socorro, San Juan & Valencia) $1,000

Sen. Stuart Ingle (R-Chaves, Curry, De Baca, Lea and Roosevelt) $1,000

Rep. Candie Sweetser (D-Grant, Hidalgo & Luna) $1,000

Sen. Craig Brandt (R-Sandoval) $2,500

Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas (D-Bernalillo) $2,500, Moe’s “Moe PAC” $5,500

Fmr. Sen. John Arthur Smith (D-Dona Ana, Hidalgo, Luna & Sierra) $2,500

Brian Egolf Speaker Fund (D-Santa Fe) $2,500

Sen. Mark Moores (R-Bernalillo) $2,500

Sen. Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) $2,500

Fmr. Sen. Sander Rue (R-Bernalillo) $2,500

Fmr. Sen. Mary Kay Papen (D-Doña Ana) $2,500

Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton (D-Bernalillo) $1,000

Fmr. Sen. Candace Gould (R-Bernalillo & Sandoval) $2,500

Rep. Micaela Cadena (D-Doña Ana) $1,000

Sen. Nancy Rodriguez (D-Santa Fe) $2,500

Rep. Jason Harper (R-Sandoval) $1,000

Rep. Doreen Gallegos (D-Doña Ana) $1,000

Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo) $1,000

Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil (D-Bernalillo) $1,000

Rep. Gail Chasey (D-Bernalillo) $1,000

Rep. Eliseo Alcon (D-Cibola & McKinley) $1,000

Sen. George Muñoz (D-Cibola, McKinley and San Juan) $2,500

Sen. Steve Neville (R-San Juan) $2,500

Other members who received campaign contributions from Nature RX:

Brian Egolf Speaker Fund (D-Santa Fe) $2,500

Sen. Jacob Candelaria (D-Bernalillo) $500

Rep. Joy Garratt (D-Bernalillo) $250

Sheryl Williams Stapleton (D-Bernalillo) $1,000

Fmr. Sen. Mary Kay Papen (D-Doña Ana) $500

Sen. Pete Campos (D-Colfax, Guadalupe, Harding, Mora, Quay, San Miguel and Taos) $500

Sen. Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) $1,000

Marijuana Company Reynold Greenleaf & Associates, LLC

$5,000 to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham

Donations by “associate” members of the “New Mexico Cannabis Chamber of Commerce.”

Sen. Pete Campos (D-Colfax, Guadalupe, Harding, Mora, Quay, San Miguel and Taos): $5,000 from Affordable Solar on 12/16/2019

Deep-pocketed marijuana lobby banking on Legislature’s proposals to legalize weed Read More »

MLG threatens ‘non-essential’ businesses if they stay open—pot shops, abortions deemed ‘essential’

13 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Wednesday, Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham threatened citations by New Mexico State Police to businesses if they do not comply with her strict mandate to close if they are deemed “non-essential” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lujan Grisham has also reinforced her stay-at-home order, which she says is germane to “aggressively minimiz[ing] person-to-person contact.”

Lujan Grisham even went so far as to give some attitude to a constituent criticizing her relentless emergency texts.

That depends, are you going to stay home like you're supposed to? #StayHomeSaveLives https://t.co/ubSveT5Os5
— Michelle Lujan Grisham (@GovMLG) April 8, 2020

On Facebook, Lujan Grisham wrote, “New Mexico’s emergency public health order WILL be enforced. Non-essential businesses that fail to comply will be cited by the New Mexico State Police.”

Despite Lujan Grisham’s “aggressive” actions by forcing the closure of businesses, she considers abortion clinics, including late-term abortion facility Southwestern Women’s Options offering to kill babies through 32 weeks (seven months) gestation. Also included in her definition of “essential” businesses are pot dispensaries.

It should be noted that Lujan Grisham received tens of thousands of dollars from the marijuana and abortion industries. As of August 2018, Lujan Grisham received $29,000 from the pot industry, with $11,000 of that originating from former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White’s business, “PurLife.”

During the 2018 election, Lujan Grisham received at least $8,000 from abortionist Curtis Boyd and his surrogates of Southwestern Women’s Options abortion clinic, $11,000 from abortion up-to-birth dark money advocacy group EMILY’s List, and at least $3,500 from Planned Parenthood, according to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office. Her abortion contributions totaled over $22,5000.

Lujan Grisham has allowed big corporate box stores to remain open, with Walmart giving the Governor $2,500 during the 2018 election cycle and $5,000 in 2019.

As time passes, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s orders are getting stricter and stricter, as small businesses are hanging by a thread. Albuquerque’s “The Cooperage” restaurant is closing its doors for good.

Lujan Grisham’s leadership style is drastically different than other governors, such as South Dakota’s Gov. Kristi Noem, who is not forcing a mandated stay-at-home order.

MLG threatens ‘non-essential’ businesses if they stay open—pot shops, abortions deemed ‘essential’ Read More »

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