Heads-up to legislators: The drug war is not over. Not with the advocates for drug law change having won a trio of bills in the Roundhouse this session. And other bills, including one to allow marijuana for medical use, came within a hair's-breadth of becoming law. This year's legislative session saw an unprecedented wave of proposals that would change drug policy in New Mexico, from small procedural changes to ones that would eliminate jail time for drug possession. [continues 417 words]
SANTA FE -- Rep. Ron Godbey's trial-lawyer approach to examining medical marijuana wasn't enough to lock up his opponents. The House Judiciary Committee followed the Senate's lead Wednesday night by approving a medical marijuana bill with only Godbey, a member of the committee, voting against the bill, HB 431. The committee's approval of the bill despite Godbey's opposition suggests it has real momentum toward final passage because Godbey is the most outspoken anti-drug legislator at the Roundhouse. [continues 334 words]
The bill passed with a 29-12 vote; Still, opposition to many of Gov. Johnson's drug policies exists. SANTA FE -- Medical use of marijuana has won approval by the Senate but several supporters of the bill said they wouldn't vote for other parts of Gov. Gary Johnson's drug policy changes. And members of the Legislature could get a chance to take that stand in response to a vote from a House committee. The Senate passed a bill by a bipartisan vote of 29-12 Tuesday night to create a system for getting marijuana to patients with debilitating illnesses and to certify those patients' medical need. [continues 499 words]
Seriously ill patients who might benefit from the pain-relieving, nausea-alleviating effects of marijuana have come a little closer to getting legal relief at the Legislature. But a rough road for passage of the measure is expected in the full House and Senate. Two committees in the Legislature Tuesday passed a bill that would permit some use of marijuana for patients -- like those with AIDS and cancer -- that could receive some therapeutic benefit from the drug. The bill passed the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee, with Democrats giving the necessary votes for passage. Three Democrats voted for the bill and one voted against. Two Republicans supported it and two were opposed. [continues 432 words]
Advocates Take Heart With Prospect Of New Money. SANTA FE - Offer drug treatment manager Paolo Giudici more funding for the clinic he works at, and he'll tell you whom to spend it on, with hardly a moment's hesitation. Teen-agers. "We have 16-year-olds and 18-year-olds that are using heroin. They need some help now," he says. These are often the children of the heroin addicts Giudici works with every day at Ayudantes, an organization that treats addicts in Espanola, Santa Fe and Las Vegas, N.M. [continues 1693 words]
Gov. Gary Johnson now has some legislative allies among Republicans and Democrats to join at least part of his crusade to rewrite the state's drug laws. Rep. Joe Thompson is expected to introduce a bill to the House today that would let patients with some debilitating illnesses use marijuana. Sens. Cisco McSorley and Roman Maes, both Democrats, hope to introduce a similar bill in the Senate during the 60-day legislative session. The bill attempts to give some relief for medical conditions that produce severe pain, nausea, muscle spasms, seizures and wasting of the body. [continues 554 words]
Legislators heard a mixed message from Gov. Gary Johnson in his State of the State speech when he said he's interested in working more closely with lawmakers, even as he put forth many of the same proposals that have been sore points of contention between himself and Democratic majorities in both houses. During his speech at the Roundhouse, Johnson presented a familiar set of pet projects, including school vouchers and income-tax reduction. These and other issues are familiar -- not only because they arise each year on Johnson's legislative wish list but also because they always draw heavy fire from the Democrat-controlled Legislature. [continues 568 words]
