ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jeff Apodaca on Thursday called for the expansion of New Mexico's medical marijuana program and for legalization of recreational use, saying the poverty-stricken state is missing out on millions of dollars in tax revenues and jobs that could be spurred by the industry. Apodaca released his plan solidifying his position as a supporter of legalization as the race for governor heats up. Apodaca pointed to New Mexico's history as the first state to allow for research and experimentation with marijuana as a therapeutic drug. It was his father, then-Gov. Jerry Apodaca, who signed that legislation in 1978. [continues 517 words]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- Officials at an Albuquerque charter school say a fifth-grader mistook her parents' medicinal marijuana for candy and passed it out to other students. KRQE-TV in Albuquerque, New Mexico, reports the Albuquerque School of Excellence student handed out the pot edibles last week before teachers noticed her acting strangely. Kristy Del Curto, Dean of Elementary Students, says that student also complained she couldn't see. Del Curto says three students ate one gummy and the student who passed out the candy ate three or four pieces. Pot gummies can be two to 100 times more potent than traditional marijuana. Del Curto says school officials called 911 and paramedics monitored all the students to make sure they were not having dangerous reactions. [end]
5th-graders thought they ate ordinary gummies. But then the room started spinning. One student passed out. Another fifth-grader said she couldn't see. A third started to feel extremely dizzy. "I felt like the room was going to flip to the side," a 9-year-old student at Albuquerque School of Excellence in New Mexico told KRQE. It didn't take the 8- and 9-year-olds -- or the principal of the school, for that matter -- long to figure out why the students were reeling last [continues 331 words]