A House legislative committee on Monday debated two bills legalizing cannabis for recreational use in New Mexico, ultimately sending one along to the House Taxation Revenue Committee and tabling the other. 

HB 12 and HB 17 both would have legalized cannabis for recreational use in New Mexico while taking different approaches to licensing and regulation. The bills were compared and debated at length in hearings on Saturday and Monday. 

Democratic state Reps. Tara Lujan of Santa Fe and Roger Montoya of Velarde cosponsored the latter bill, which was tabled on a 7-4 vote, effectively killing it, though committee members encouraged them to offer amendments incorporating aspects of their bill into HB 12. 

New Mexicans who are following the push by many lawmakers to legalize recreational-use cannabis now have plenty of reading material. 

Legislators have filed four legalization bills, two of which have identical language. All of the bills have the same general goal, but with different paths to get there and varying standards of what would and wouldn’t be allowed in a post-legalization New Mexico. Passage of any of the bills is still not a guarantee and given the history of previous cannabis legalization proposals and the legislative process in general, it is likely some pieces of the differing bills will be absorbed into one final bill.

In 2020, the number of states that ended pot prohibition reached 15 (and the District of Columbia), as voters in four states—Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota—legalized marijuana through the initiative process. Since 2021 is not an election year, any states that attempt to legalize marijuana this year will have to go through the much more cumbersome legislative process, but at least a handful of them are poised to do so.

New Mexico could be one of the next states to join the green wave as state lawmakers prepare a measure to legalize recreational marijuana for adults. Rep. Javier Martinez, a Democrat from Albuquerque, said recently that the legislation should be ready to introduce in the state legislature soon.

“It’s a big, complicated bill,” Martinez said. “We are wrapping up the final touches. This is a bill, at this point, five years in the making.”

Medical marijuana patients in New Mexico may soon be able to purchase a larger amount of cannabis. 

State legislators are rekindling efforts to open New Mexico to recreational marijuana production and sales, with an emphasis on economic opportunity amidst the turmoil of the coronavirus pandemic.

State Rep. Javier Martinez told a panel of lawmakers Tuesday that he will introduce legislation in 2021 to regulate and tax recreational marijuana, hewing closely to a proposal that won House approval earlier this year but died in the Senate without a floor vote.

Elections this year ousted several conservative-leaning Democratic state senators who opposed past legalization efforts. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham last week reiterated her support for recreational marijuana as an opportunity to expand and diversify the state economy.

After a flurry of activity, 27 US states now have hemp plans approved by the US Department of Agriculture.

The passage of the 2018 Farm Bill saw hemp no longer classified a Controlled Substance, and the USDA was directed to approve hemp production plans submitted by states and Indian tribes to ensure hemp would be grown in harmony with the Bill and regulations set by the Department.