Partners in Planned Medical Cannabis Chain Blame State Obstruction Duke Rodriguez's plan to build a statewide chain of cannabis retail stores has hit a snag. Rodriguez, owner of Ultra Health LLC, contends that state regulators have slow-tracked his request to open at least 14 new stores, most in communities that now lack dispensaries. "We're just caught in this limbo with no formal response," Rodriguez said this week. "We have met every single request that they have presented, including evidence that we were able to secure product." [continues 362 words]
Marijuana is just one of many issues in which the government is so far behind the people, it's beyond funny. The Drug Enforcement Administration proved this again just last week when it announced that after weeks of reviewing a petition to reclassify marijuana so it's no longer a Schedule 1 drug, along with heroin, Quaaludes and various psychedelics. Some who follow this issue were optimistic that the DEA might might actually reverse its long-held ironclad Reefer Madness policy. Perhaps the DEA would would reclassify marijuana as a Schedule 2 drug - along with cocaine and methamphetamine - or even lower. [continues 630 words]
Some Attorneys Given Pause by 'Gray Area' Between State, Federal Cannabis Policies Nine years after the New Mexico Legislature legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, the state's lawyers are feeling uneasy about clients involved in the cannabis industry. The New Mexico State Bar Association, citing federal drug laws and rules of professional conduct prohibiting lawyers from assisting clients in committing a crime, is cautioning attorneys on representing medical cannabis growers and dispensaries. An opinion from the association's Ethics Advisory Committee published this week comes as businesses and regulatory groups navigate the legal gray area surrounding the licensed growing and selling of a product the federal government still classifies as a Schedule I narcotic. [continues 781 words]
IT IS WITH bewilderment that I read the article in the July 28 paper ("Gov. backs shutting teen addict center") that Turquoise Lodge is closing its adolescent unit due to "lack of demand." Couple that with the state handcuffing addiction counselors, it seems that the "war on drugs" is seen by our health officials as a "war on drug addicts." These are not evil people who freely choose to stay addicted - they are sick and need help, not the turning of our backs! [continues 116 words]
Colorado experience shows it's a winner Well, it's been long enough since Colorado became one of the first two states to approve recreational marijuana legalization in November 2012. The rumor was that New Mexico was taking a wait and see stance before embarking on it's own legalization. But now the stats are everywhere: Colorado is ranked as one of the fastest growing economies in our nation. The unemployment rate is at its lowest since 2008, well below the national average. Incarceration rates have dropped through the floor. [continues 575 words]
This is the time of year parents start worrying about back-to-school stuff. For those with college-age kids who will soon go off to live by themselves, there's an extra bit of preparation to think about. You may not realize it, but police departments across the country, especially those near colleges and universities, often "flip" students caught with even a tiny amount of marijuana and recruit them into the ranks of "confidential informant." [continues 712 words]
Without a doubt, we Americans are in a bad way. The senseless deaths last week in Baton Rouge, La., Falcon Heights, Minn., and now Dallas are devastating beyond comprehension for the victims and their families. Each shooting also is an act in a shared national tragedy. The problems go down to the very roots. The question of whether, as a country, we are headed in the right or wrong direction can no longer be answered simply with reference to policy matters such as the economy, education or foreign relations. Instead, we face the fundamental question of whether we, the people, as a single people, are holding together and can hold together. [continues 546 words]
Without a doubt, we Americans are in a bad way. The senseless deaths this week in Baton Rouge, La., Falcon Heights, Minn., and now Dallas are devastating beyond comprehension for the victims and their families. Each shooting is also an act in a shared national tragedy. The problems go down to the very roots. The question of whether, as a country, we are headed in the right or wrong direction can no longer be answered simply with reference to policy matters such as the economy, education or foreign relations. Instead, we face the fundamental question of whether we, the people, as a single people, are holding together and can hold together. [continues 554 words]
Slowly but surely, marijuana prohibition is ending. Legalization can help undo the racist impact of the war on this widely used drug - but it could also help perpetuate injustice. Four states and the District of Columbia have passed measures to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use, and many more allow use for medical purposes. Those numbers will almost certainly grow this year, with my home state of California likely leading the way. But state governments, as well as the burgeoning legal marijuana industry, need to get this right. [continues 429 words]
Former Sheriff Who Uses Medical Cannabis Can't Legally Own a Firearm Former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White says he is no longer a certified law enforcement officer, doesn't have a concealed handgun carry license but does own a firearm. White has also publicly disclosed that he is a medical cannabis user and an investor in a new medical marijuana grower and dispensary in Albuquerque, as well as its chief administrator and security chief. But medical marijuana use - regardless of whether it's permitted by state law - remains illegal under federal law, and federal law prohibits unlawful users of controlled substances, such as marijuana, from possessing firearms, according to the long-held position of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. [continues 1205 words]
New Mexico's Program Is a Model of Efficiency but Still Needs More Money to Function New Mexico is experiencing vast budget shortages stemming from a historically limited private-sector economy and lower than expected oil and gas revenues. Rarely, if ever, have the state coffers been sufficient to fully fund the programmatic needs for improved education, a stronger justice system and expanded but needed health care. Of the three largest budget demands, only one is both a true economic and social positive multiplier to the improved well-being of the state's individual residents and the overall statewide economy: Medicaid. New Mexico is in an envious position of being able to obtain $3 in a federal match for each $1 the state provides. [continues 548 words]
LED Developers Seeking to Become Go-to Source for Cannabis Industry On New Mexico's economic Richter scale, Lifted LED, with a workforce of just five, barely registers. But just wait, say those energetic employees, which includes brothers and business partners Jaxon and Geoff Patterson. "It's all comes down to the right light," Jaxon Patterson said of Lifted LED's future potential, especially on the cannabis growing front. They have ambitious plans for their lighting company, inspired by an increasing emphasis on energy conservation that's expected to be a major factor in determining which companies survive in the fast-evolving cannabis industry. [continues 491 words]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Rachael Speegle, 34, left a full-time job as a critical care nurse last year to work at an Albuquerque medical marijuana dispensary and growing operation started by her husband. Speegle quickly discovered that people who came to the Verdes Foundation dispensary in Albuquerque had lots of questions that called for her nursing skills. "Their questions were so simple," she said. For example: "How do I talk to my doctor about this? Why does my nausea feel better when I smoke it than when I eat it?" [continues 1002 words]
One of the last singles by the late Merle Haggard was a fun little tune he sang with his old crony, Willie Nelson, and younger country star, Jamey Johnson, called "It's All Going to Pot." With obvious glee radiating from their weathered voices, Hag and his pals sang, "It's all going to pot / Whether we like it or not. ..." Yep, it looks like they do smoke marijuana in Muskogee after all. Willie's been a leading advocate for marijuana legalization for decades now, but some who heard that song (released on April 20, 2015 . 4-20, get it, get it?) were surprised to hear Merle singing it. After all, he first rose to national fame in the late '60s when "Okie from Muskogee" captured the hearts of President Richard Nixon's Silent Majority and was hailed as a troubadour of the right. Those who have actually followed his career realize that Haggard's stance on drugs softened not long after that hit and that his politics were all over the place (one of several reasons I loved him so much). [continues 488 words]
Miracle Medication or Dangerous Drug? to Many Using Marijuana, It Can Be Both It is both a plant and a drug, a recreation and a medication, and it is a substance weighed with both pros and cons in our society: marijuana. Some states have decided to legalize it while others have not. Marijuana, also known as weed, ganja, pot, etc., remains one of the most common illicit drugs in the country. In New Mexico alone, 28 percent of teens reported using marijuana in 2013, according to a statewide Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey. And New Mexico tops the list of states where teens said they started using marijuana before the age of 13 - at 17 percent. [continues 1381 words]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Attorneys general for New Mexico and 32 other states have asked the federal government to require methadone clinics to report to prescription drug monitoring programs, which track patients who received prescriptions of controlled substances, including narcotic painkillers. New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas said prescribers in the state need to know if people enrolled in methadone maintenance programs are trying to get prescriptions of opioid drugs from other sources. "Patients should not be able to go to methadone clinics and then also doctor shop for other drugs," James Hallinan, a spokesman for Balderas, said in a written statement. [continues 321 words]
I've long supported drug legalization for many reasons, but like many other advocates, I consider the reduction of violent crime to be the main benefit. Deprived of the ability to enforce contracts through the relatively peaceful legal process used by other markets, black markets are accompanied by high levels of violence: Gangs fight for territory, enforce business agreements and try to defer defections. The more profitable the black market is, the more incentive there is to use violence to protect your profits, which may be one reason that the introduction of crack cocaine was accompanied by such a huge increase in violent crime. Legalizing drugs cuts into the profits, and gives industry players legal means to settle their disputes, so in theory, this should reduce the prevalence, and the brutality, of violent gangs. [continues 496 words]
If our nearsighted legislators had approved the sale of marijuana, we would have tons of new revenue. If they even had the brains to allow cultivation of hemp, that could create more income. And if our governor would raise taxes, that would help. Of course, if the state had invested in clean energy years ago instead of relying so much on fossil fuel sales, we wouldn't be in such a pickle. Tracy Neal Santa Fe [end]
One step, one person at a time, participants in the Longest Walk 5 are bringing attention to the problems of substance abuse and domestic abuse in Native communities in the United States. An initiative of the American Indian Movement, walkers arrived in Santa Fe on Tuesday, taking a break in the 3,600-mile walk to share their mission. The 30-plus participants will be in the area through Friday, when AIM founder Dennis Banks will take part in a governors conference for the Eight Northern Pueblos Council. On Wednesday, Banks and other walkers met with students at the Institute of American Indian Arts. [continues 536 words]
Ranchers Rally Over Security Problems ANIMAS - Several hundred ranchers gathered at a small-town high school in the Bootheel on Thursday to rally against what they described as a broken border. Also present were members and representatives of New Mexico's congressional delegation and officials from public security agencies, including the Border Patrol, Army, National Guard and sheriffs. More than 600 people showed up at a school auditorium in Animas, population 237. Ranchers here have been steaming over the reported kidnapping of a ranch hand in December, when drug runners allegedly hijacked the man's vehicle, loaded it with narcotics and drove him to Arizona. He came home "roughed up," his employer Tricia Elbrock said, but he survived the ordeal. [continues 621 words]
Legalize cannabis (marijuana) - but not because there are a million people who can hardly wait to pay taxes on it ("Pot in N.M. will not move forward," Feb. 15) or because it will save government money or put more police out protecting citizens. Stop caging responsible adults who use the relatively safe, extremely popular God-given plant (as described on the very first page of the Bible) because it's the right thing to do and the majority of citizens want to end the crime of cannabis prohibition and discrimination. A sane or moral argument to perpetuate cannabis prohibition doesn't exist. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
What if the lawmakers who advocated for the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act back in 2007 had proposed providing medical marijuana for the vague diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder? And what if they had suggested allowing nonprofit producers to be fronts for for-profit growers? And what if they had contemplated partnerships that turn tribal lands into huge pot farms? Well, somebody would probably have said they were high. But in the realm of unintended consequences, all of those money-driven expansions have happened or are in the works. [continues 349 words]
NM Medical Pot Producer, Nev. Tribe to Build Growing Facility Near Vegas A New Mexico medical cannabis producer this week announced a joint venture with the Las Vegas Paiute tribe to build a large growing facility and two dispensaries on tribal land in Nevada. Duke Rodriguez, founder of Ultra Health LLC, said the $5 million project could serve as a model for a similar deal in coming months with a pueblo in New Mexico. One of the two planned Nevada dispensaries will be located on a 31-acre parcel of Paiute land in downtown Las Vegas, where the tribe now operates a cigarette retail business and minimart, tribal and Ultra Health leaders said after a news conference in Las Vegas. [continues 389 words]
Two Albuquerque Girl Scouts have picked an unusual spot to sell Girl Scout cookies - a marijuana dispensary. KRQE-TV in Albuquerque reported a Girl Scout Junior and a Brownie set up shop Saturday outside medical marijuana dispensary Ultra Health and sold more than 60 boxes. Ultra Health manager James Gambling says he invited the scouts and offered to donate $1 for every box the girls sold. He says "the munchies" is a stereotype that comes with marijuana, so it was fitting to have the Girl Scouts outside. Phil Temer, a dad of one of the girls, says he saw nothing wrong with the girls selling near the dispensary. Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails spokeswoman Carol Ann Short says selling outside medical marijuana dispensaries is against scout rules. [end]
Department of Health Regulations Kept Names Confidential Since 2007 The names of New Mexico nonprofits licensed to grow and sell medical marijuana were posted Monday on the state Department of Health website. The disclosure marks the first time the names of licensed nonprofit producers have been revealed publicly since lawmakers approved the medical cannabis program in 2007. The website lists the names and addresses of 23 nonprofit producers licensed several years ago by the Department of Health. It also lists the names of 12 nonprofits approved for licensure last year, many of which do not yet operate dispensaries. [continues 255 words]
35 Licensed Nonprofits Will Be Made Public The names of New Mexico nonprofits licensed to grow and sell medical marijuana will be identified publicly on the state Department of Health's website today for the first time since lawmakers approved the cannabis program in 2007. The names of all 35 licensed nonprofit producers will be posted at nmhealth.org, together with addresses of those with active dispensaries, agency spokesman Kenny Vigil said. The agency will also honor requests from the public to view records submitted by producers, including applications and other records, Vigil said. [continues 239 words]
The state of Colorado is not having budget problems this year because of reduced income from fossil fuels. Marijuana has generated billions - - that's billions - of dollars in revenue for the state of Colorado. Industrial hemp also would increase revenues in New Mexico. Wake up and smell the roses, people. We don't have to be at the bottom of the financial list. Marijuana is not as insidious as some people believe. Dick Hogle Espanola [end]
Names Will Become Public on Monday The names of licensed nonprofit medical marijuana producers and those seeking licenses from the state will become public under new rules taking effect next week, the New Mexico Department of Health announced Monday. The confidentiality surrounding producers was challenged last year in a lawsuit filed by freelance journalist Peter St. Cyr and the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. They argued the Health Department was violating public records law by keeping producers' names secret. The agency has been reworking the rules since July, when Gov. Susana Martinez ordered officials to make the information public in the interest of transparency. [continues 184 words]
All 18 Senate Republicans, 6 Dems Vote Against Proposed Constitutional Amendment New Mexico won't follow the lead of Colorado and other Western states that have legalized marijuana as a recreational drug, at least not this year. State senators on Sunday night voted 24-17 against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed people 25 and older to buy and smoke marijuana. The measure also would have legalized industrial hemp, a cousin of the marijuana plant, that has myriad commercial uses. [continues 483 words]
When crack hit America in the mid1980s, for African-Americans, to borrow from Ta-Nehisi Coates, civilization fell. Crack embodied instant and fatal addiction; we saw endless images of thin, ravaged bodies, always black, as though from a famined land. And always those desperate, cracked lips. Our hearts broke learning the words "crack baby." But mostly, crack meant shocking violence, terrifying gangs and hollowed-out inner cities. For those living in crack-plagued areas, the devastation was all too real. Children learned which ways home were safe and which gang to join to avoid beatings, or worse. [continues 795 words]
For-Profits Play Increasing Role Eric Howard takes great pride in his "ladies," each of which can yield up to 16 ounces of medical cannabis in a 16-week life cycle. "They get so heavy, they fall over right at the end," said Howard, master grower at an 11-acre growing facility in Bernalillo owned by Ultra Health LLC. A trellis system is needed to support the heavy flowering branches of the mature plants. Howard urges a visitor to feel one of the dense flowers, which leaves a sticky resin on the fingers. [continues 1575 words]
We Must Treat Addiction Like Any Other Disease and Aim to Prevent and Treat Last fall, I listened as a mother named Cary Dixon told her family's story at a forum I convened in West Virginia. It was heartbreaking. Cary's adult son has struggled with a substance use disorder for years, and she described the pain that families like hers have gone through. "We dread the next phone call," she said. "We don't take vacations for fear of the next crisis. We come back from vacations because there's a crisis." [continues 590 words]
Measures Again Pushed to Allow Sale, Possession in New Mexico SANTA FE - Sixty-one percent of New Mexicans surveyed this month said they support legalizing marijuana, and doing that would bump up state revenues by tens of millions of dollars, legalization supporters said Thursday. "If it can get on the ballot, it's going to pass," said Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, who once again is sponsoring a constitutional change to legalize marijuana possession, regulate its production and sale, and tax it. [continues 553 words]
Look Back to Alcohol Prohibition for Understanding of Why Taboos about drugs are lying shattered across the U.S., like broken debris after a party. But even as some states have begun to decriminalize or legalize marijuana, there is an argument that is making some Americans hesitate. They ask: Aren't many drugs, even pot, much more potent today than they were in the 1960s, when the boomers formed their views on drug use? Hasn't cannabis morphed into super skunk? Aren't people who used legal painkillers like OxyContin and Percocet sliding into heroin addiction - suggesting that legally accessible drugs are a slippery slope toward the abuse of harder drugs? [continues 608 words]
Medical marijuana producers told state health officials Wednesday that disclosing the locations of growing facilities would invite criminals to burglarize the sites, while open-records advocates countered that greater transparency will help ensure fair and effective management of the state's cannabis program. "We have a product that criminals want," said Eric Briones, founder of the Minerva Canna Group of Los Ranchos, one of 23 nonprofits licensed by the state Department of Health to grow and sell medical pot. Minerva must conduct its business in cash because banks don't take deposits from cannabis growers, he said. "We have cannabis and we have cash." [continues 179 words]
Producers: Rule Change Will Expose Us to Criminals SANTA FE - Medical marijuana producers told state health officials Wednesday that disclosing the locations of growing facilities would invite criminals to burglarize the sites, while open-records advocates countered that greater transparency will help ensure fair and effective management of the state's cannabis program. "We have a product that criminals want," said Eric Briones, founder of the Minerva Canna Group of Los Ranchos, one of 23 nonprofits licensed by the state Department of Health to grow and sell medical pot. Minerva must conduct its business in cash because banks don't take deposits from cannabis growers, he said. "We have cannabis and we have cash." [continues 411 words]
Proposed Rules Would List Distributors but Not Those Who Produce Own Supply In a strongly worded letter, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas said Monday that a Department of Health proposal to disclose the identities of licensed nonprofit producers of medical cannabis doesn't go far enough to abide by the state's open records law. Balderas contends that state law doesn't authorize the agency to withhold the names of more than 4,000 New Mexicans licensed to grow their own supply of medical pot. [continues 467 words]
Inside New Mexico
