(Santa Fe, NM) – On August 14th, the Governor’s Working Group on Cannabis Legalization convened for the first time. This group, established by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, is tasked with crafting legislation to legalize marijuana in the upcoming legislative session.
Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a former senior drug policy advisor to the Obama Administration, released the following statement in advance of the meeting:
“As SAM co-founder, former congressman Patrick Kennedy, put it in an Albuquerque Journal op-ed over the weekend, ‘in a state with one of the highest rankings of child poverty, the stakes are too high…’
“The New Mexico Senate’s rejection of commercialization in favor of decriminalization was a great step for social justice in choosing not to allow Big Marijuana to target vulnerable communities for profits. We are not surprised to find a nearly exclusive industry presence on this new working group, because addiction-for-profit tactics in minority communities are a non-negotiable for this nascent Big Tobacco 2.0.
“States legalizing marijuana have seen significant increases in use, emergency room visits, and drugged driving deaths. Further, today’s super strength, 99% THC products such as gummies, candies, sodas, and vapes have been linked with the onset of severe mental illness. We see no reason why lawmakers who opposed legalization last year will change their minds to support a bill written by Big Pot.”
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