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New Mexico Law Requires State to Produce Marijuana

Many states now have laws allowing medical use of marijuana. New Mexico's law, passed a few months ago, has a new twist. It is the first law that requires the state to produce its own pot.

The law, effective Sunday, not only protects medical marijuana users from prosecution _ as 11 other states do _ but requires New Mexico to oversee a production and distribution system for the drug.

"The long-term goal is that the patients will have a safe, secure supply that doesn't mean drug dealers, that doesn't mean growing their own," said Reena Szczepanski, director of Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico.

The state Department of Health must issue rules by Oct. 1 for the licensing of marijuana producers and in-state, secured facilities, and for developing a distribution system.

The other states with medical marijuana laws:

Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Maryland's law doesn't protect patients from arrest, but it keeps defendants out of jail if they can convince judges they needed marijuana for medical reasons.

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  • Display: Sort:
    secure system (none / 0) (#1)
    by diogenes on Sat Jun 30, 2007 at 09:08:42 PM EST
    Hey, if the secure system gives it only to those who have been shown to fail on Marinol tablets, why not?

    Marinol?..... (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by kdog on Sun Jul 01, 2007 at 07:52:32 AM EST
    Why bother?  Ain't nothing like the real thing baby.

    What I wanna know is are they taking resumes for testers?

    Parent

    My Guess (none / 0) (#4)
    by squeaky on Sun Jul 01, 2007 at 12:45:11 PM EST
    Is that you would be much better offering your services to your local distributer.

    Government MJ has always proven to be substandard.

    Parent

    This puts N.M. in the ONDCP's gunsights (none / 0) (#3)
    by SeeEmDee on Sun Jul 01, 2007 at 10:18:43 AM EST
    The Office of National Drug Control  Policy (don't make me laugh; they can't 'contol' squat) has been running around the States where any such laws are being proposed, on the taxpayer's dime and time, to use those taxpayer resources to lobby against such legislation and referenda.

    (Needless to say, quite a few bureaucrats and drug cops would have to brush off their resumes should the number of States doing this increase; perhaps they're more concerned about their job security?)

    The problem with many of the laws in many of the States where MMJ has been made legal is the sourcing and profiteering that has gone on. By making the State government responsible for growing, quality assurance, packaging and dissemination, this puts the State of New Mexico's government squarely in the path of the DrugWar Juggernaut. The DEA would have to raid State government offices in order to carry out it's pogrom against medicinal cannabis. This is gonna get reeeeeeal interesting...