Bill Would Allow Medical Marijuana Access to All Veterans in New Mexico

February 9, 2017
AggregatedNews
New Mexico
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A Senate committee voted Wednesday in favor of a bill that would make changes to New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program, but some lawmakers were troubled by a section that would allow veterans to enroll without being diagnosed with a qualifying medical condition.

One state senator who voted in favor of the measure said he might change his vote when the bill reaches the Senate floor.

Senate Bill 8, which would increase the amounts of marijuana patients could possess and producers could grow, would be the first legislative change to the medical marijuana program since it was approved 10 years ago, said Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, the bill’s sponsor. McSorley also carried the original medical marijuana bill that passed the Legislature in 2007.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 7-3 along party lines to send the bill to the full Senate.

McSorley defended the change for veterans, saying it’s necessary because many veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder don’t want to be stigmatized by having a PTSD diagnosis. He said admitting any veteran into the program also will reduce suicides in the state. [Read more at Santa Fe New Mexican]

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