The Governor of New Mexico is calling all the lawmakers to root for the legalization of marijuana in the New Year.
Michelle Lujan Grisham, the Governor, said that she sent an agenda to lawmakers for enacting a bill that allows legalization of the use of marijuana in New Mexico.
She also wants a structured regulatory framework to be set which focuses on public health safeguards and protects the existing medical cannabis program of the state.
If a bill is submitted by the lawmakers to her desk, then New Mexico would soon become the next state in the United States to terminate the prohibition of cannabis. A 30-day short session would soon be organized to discuss this matter and analyze the benefits and drawbacks of such a policy.
Today I announced my priorities for the 2020 legislative session: building on the foundation of Year One and creating a brighter future for students, workers, & families all across New Mexico. We are investing for tomorrow while delivering today!
đ°: https://t.co/1xCYqqPwHB pic.twitter.com/pRjsiiFiLX
â Michelle Lujan Grisham (@GovMLG) January 15, 2020
Related: Workers of Cresco Labs want Unions in Illinoisâ Marijuana Industry
Lujan Grisham supported the legalization of marijuana in the year 2018. Her idea did create a lot of buzz and was taken into consideration; however, it did not materialize. Undeterred, she created a working group for studying the issues concerning the laws.
The panel developed by the Governor held a series of discussions and released a report which states that the legalization legislation should cover automatic expungements of past records and provisions to make certain parity in the industry for groups battered by the war on drugs.
The panel also suggested that the home cultivation of the drug should either be licensed by the state or should be prohibited.
The State House of Representatives passed a bill in 2019 to allow the legalization of marijuana and to permit state-run stores to take over the sales. The proposal did not receive a floor vote after advancing through one Senate Committee. The lawmakers did send a bill to the governor to decriminalize possession of marijuana which she signed promptly.
In the new session, Lujan Grisham is asking the lawmakers to come up with a bill that states clearly that the medical cannabis program run by the state is applicable to the residents of the state only.
Related: Major Scientific Breakthrough: New Cannabinoid found to be 30x Potent & Powerful than THC
In her official agenda, she stated that 75% of New Mexicans had voted for Marijuana legalization in a poll conducted last month. In her statement, she also revealed a plan to create 11,000 jobs in New Mexico and generate revenue in the hundreds of millions once the legalization happens.
The court ruled out the previous year that patients not belonging to the state could also participate in the event when an objection was raised over the topic by a bunch of regulators. However, the governor is adamant that a restriction is required in order to protect the program run by the state.
There are a lot of changes in store this year with the Governor of New Mexico supporting the legalization of recreational cannabis in New Mexico. A long discussion on the topic can be expected. Maybe, after a series of discussions, the lawmakers can mutually devise a policy that makes sense and would be for the best of all the residents of the state.
