MjLink

New Mexico Senate Committee Votes to Table Cannabis Legalization Bill - MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press

MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press

Cannabis Industry Business Professionals Blogs, Press Releases and News Articles from the best journalist in the industry. Stay updated on all news from many online cannabis news outlets, on MjLink.com

New Mexico Senate Committee Votes to Table Cannabis Legalization Bill

Cannabis Business Times Marijuana News Thursday, 13 February 2020
2 minutes reading time (395 words)

The New Mexico Senate Judiciary Committee has voted 6-4 to table a bill that would have legalized adult-use cannabis in the state.

The bill’s supporters told the Albuquerque Journal that after the committee’s Feb. 12 vote, the legislation is likely dead for this year’s 30-day legislative session, which ends next week.

“We’d have no chance of getting it through now,” Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino (D-Albuquerque) told the news outlet. “This is a setback, but I think in the long run it will produce a better bill.”

Ortiz y Pino introduced NM S.B. 115 Jan. 16, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham seemed eager to sign a legalization bill this year after announcing that she was officially adding cannabis legalization to the state’s 2020 legislative agenda.

RELATED: New Mexico Lawmakers Introduce Legislation to Legalize Adult-Use Cannabis

NM S.B. 115 overcame a key hurdle Jan. 28 when it cleared the Senate Public Affairs Committee in a 4-3 vote, but its fate in the Judiciary Committee was always a bit more uncertain. Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Las Cruces) has expressed concerns in the past about adult-use legalization in the state, and questioned provisions in this particular bill, including one that would give labor unions a role in deciding who would be awarded cannabis dispensary licenses, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

“I am disappointed but not deterred by tonight’s committee motion,” Lujan Grisham said in a public statement following the Judiciary Committee’s vote. “The door remains open. We will keep working to get it done. And ultimately, we will deliver thousands of careers for New Mexicans in a new and clean and exciting industry, a key new component of a diversifying economy."

Emily Kaltenbach, New Mexico state director for the Drug Policy Alliance, echoed this sentiment.

"We are very disappointed that a bill that would have done the right thing for New Mexicans—an overwhelming majority of which support marijuana legalization—was tabled," she said in a public statement. "As a result, the communities that have been most impacted by prohibition will continue to be left out in the cold, along with those that could have benefited from the investment made in substance use disorder treatment and education, not to mention the boost this would have provided to New Mexico’s economy. This fight is far from over, but it’s unfortunate that New Mexicans will have to continue to wait."

Original link

  • Previous
  • Next

About the author

Cannabis Business Times

Author's recent posts
More posts from author
Monday, 03 November 2025 Closing Farm Bill ‘Loophole’ Would Help Hemp Industry ‘Thrive,’ Minnesota AG Says
Monday, 03 November 2025 Borealis Opens State-of-the-Art Cultivation, Production Facility in Connecticut
Monday, 03 November 2025 InterCure, Cannasoul Partner to Advance Cannabis Science, Pharmaceutical Innovation
Monday, 03 November 2025 Curaleaf Launches 5th Annual 'Feed the Block' Fundraiser to Combat Food Insecurity in US
Monday, 03 November 2025 Planet 13 Divests California Dispensary, Closes Cultivation Facility
Monday, 03 November 2025 Cannabis Consumer Survey Shows Digital Conveniences Driving Purchasing

Related Posts

Closing Farm Bill ‘Loophole’ Would Help Hemp Industry ‘Thrive,’ Minnesota AG Says

Marijuana News

Borealis Opens State-of-the-Art Cultivation, Production Facility in Connecticut

Marijuana News

InterCure, Cannasoul Partner to Advance Cannabis Science, Pharmaceutical Innovation

Marijuana News

Curaleaf Launches 5th Annual 'Feed the Block' Fundraiser to Combat Food Insecurity in US

Marijuana News

Planet 13 Divests California Dispensary, Closes Cultivation Facility

Marijuana News

Cannabis Consumer Survey Shows Digital Conveniences Driving Purchasing

Marijuana News

Copyright ©2026 MjLink


main version