Is cannabis farming next for our area?

In a Jan. 17 news release, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced her support for a measure to legalize recreational cannabis in New Mexico for adults aged 21 and older, calling it “an economic development driver that would create thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in revenue for needed public services all across the state.

“Legalization would generate an estimated 11,000 new jobs in agriculture, manufacturing, regulation and retail, where sales would reach $620 million by the fifth year, according to an independent analyst,” the news release said. “A mature medical/adult-use cannabis industry would generate some $100 million in annual revenue for state and local governments.

“The Legislature has the opportunity to pass the largest job-creation program in New Mexico in a decade,” Lujan Grisham said. “Skeptics have been right to preach study and patience. I agree with their caution – and that’s why we haven’t rushed into this issue. But if we are clear-eyed about the risks, we have to be clear-eyed about the opportunity.”

The news release said “new polling shows that 75 percent of New Mexicans favor legalization, and 65 percent approve of legalized sales in their own towns. Support crosses all demographic and political lines and includes all four corners of the state as well as the Rio Grande corridor. Polling has also shown cannabis will provide opportunity for young New Mexicans to stay and work here in the state.”

The governor’s proposal, the Cannabis Regulation Act, House Bill 160, “is based on a report by the Cannabis Legalization Working Group, a bipartisan task force (the governor) appointed to study the issue all throughout last year,” the news release continued. “The task force held 30-plus hours of public meetings and received 200-plus pages of public comment from all across the state before issuing a framework for testing, regulation, public health and public safety.”

Nine other states and the District of Columbia have already legalized recreational cannabis, and the governor’s proposal is informed by missteps some early adopters made regarding tax rates and regulatory infrastructure,” the news release said.

New Mexico’s agriculture community has shown interest in cannabis as an alternative crop if it becomes legal, New Mexico Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte of Las Cruces said in the news release. “This is especially true of new and beginning farmers who are looking for potentially higher-value crops that might use less water than traditional New Mexico crops and that can be economic on smaller acreages,” Witte said.

“The initiative requires robust testing to ensure that all cannabis products sold in New Mexico are free of contamination and clearly labeled as to THC dosage, just as a can of beer or a bottle of wine warns consumers of alcohol content. In both cases, accurate labeling prevents unintended overdoses. The proposal includes restrictions on advertisements targeted at youth.

“Additionally, the proposal requires investments in training to help law enforcement officers identify impaired driving of all kinds, not just cannabis-induced. In other states that made similar investments, DWI rates and teen use of cannabis both went down.

“It’s time to stop pretending cannabis is not already a part of our economy and culture,” the governor said. “The thousands of New Mexicans who work in, supply and serve our medical cannabis program are employers; they are doctors; they are entrepreneurs; they are our neighbors.”

“The governor’s proposal will protect the medical cannabis program by exempting medical users from the tax and requiring growers to serve medical market before selling in the recreational market,” the news release said.

“We have the tools and the know-how to regulate this industry – and to do it better than many other states. We have a bill based on the diligent and extensive work of the task force. And we have a public that wants legalization. So let’s get this done,” the governor said.

“Under the proposal, local jurisdictions are empowered to adopt reasonable time, place and manner operational rules. The initiative includes conviction and arrest-record expungement provisions and provides for a mechanism for possible recall and dismissal of cases of individuals incarcerated for cannabis-related offenses.”