New Mexico lawmakers to review draft bill for cannabis legalization

502 0

New Mexico is closing in on the launch of an expanded cannabis market

The cannabis movement has not stopped in New Mexico. This is because several legislators are making every effort to reach an agreement on the legalization of marijuana, and will take advantage of the special legislative session that begins today. Because HB 12 was not a major success when it was introduced in the Senate, its sponsors are now looking for a way to restructure the bill in order to get full support from both chambers.

In an interview last Friday, Representative Javier Martinez said, “We are working on our bill. I’ve been meeting with the governor’s office all week—myself, my cosponsors on the House side and cosponsors on the Senate side.” Automatic expungement of criminal records for cannabis was one of the individual provisions of this plan. However, according to various reports, it is very likely that it will become separate legislation, which would cause lawmakers to consider creating several bills encompassing all of their initial proposals.

On the other hand, Senator Cliff Pirtle has been focusing on a new proposal, which was announced at the special session that was held late last week. This is because his legalization bill, SB 288, was not very successful and did not even make it out of committee during the regular session. So far, Pirtle has expressed displeasure that despite meeting with the governor’s office over the weekend, he has felt that he has not been sufficiently taken into account in the ongoing negotiations.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has been preventing several bills from being rejected by the Senate, such as HB 12. Grisham has therefore opted to call a special session, in order to touch on important points before even creating bills that are not enough to pass.