New Mexico Marijuana Legalization Bills Get First Hearing This Week

As the governor of New Mexico steps up her push to enact marijuana legalization, a House committee is set to take up two separate proposals to end cannabis prohibition at a hearing this weekend.

One bill that will be considered by the Health and Human Services Committee on Saturday incorporates social equity provisions sought after by advocates.

Introduced by Rep. Javier Martínez (D), it would allow adults 21 and older to possess “at least” two ounces of cannabis and grow up to six mature and six immature plants for personal use. It would also create a system of regulated and taxed cannabis sales.

Of the four separate legalization bills that have been introduced in the New Mexico legislature so far this session, Martinez’s is the only one that includes provisions to automatically expunge prior cannabis convictions and use tax revenue from marijuana sales to support reinvestments in communities most impacted by the war on drugs.