Cannabis Legalization Bills Pre-Filed in New Mexico

Two cannabis legalization bills have been pre-filed in New Mexico, less than one week after Gov. Lujan Grisham called for the reforms during her State of the State address, KOB 4 reports.

The bills were filed by Democratic state Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto and Republican Cliff Pirtle on Monday. The measures would both, essentially, do the same thing but differ on operational and enforcement details.

If approved, Pirtle’s bill calls for industry rules and regulations to be promulgated no later than September 1 with licenses manufacturing expected to be issued by Sept. 1, 2022 and cultivation licenses by June 1, 2022, according to the bill text. The proposal also allows local control and would allow social-use where approved. The measure includes provisions common in other states with adult-cannabis laws, including a ban on edibles that could appeal to children, testing, advertising bans, and limits on how far dispensaries must be from school, churches, parks, playgrounds, and youth centers.

The measure includes expungement provisions for cannabis-related crimes that would be legal under the new law.

Ivey-Soto’s proposal includes many of the same safeguards as the Republican’s plan but also would establish a Medical Cannabis Assistance Fund for low-income medical cannabis patients funded by cannabis taxes. The measure aims for an industry launch date of Jan. 1, 2022. The proposal sets possession limits at 2 ounces of flower and 16 grams of concentrates.

Both laws keep intact provisions of the state’s medical cannabis law that allow for home cultivation.

Both bills were sent to the chamber’s Taxation, Business and Transportation Committee.