Legislation that would have made changes to New Mexico’s adult-use cannabis law died at the close of the state’s 30-day legislative session, which ended Feb. 17.
Senate Bill 100 was overshadowed by legislation addressing crime and voting rights, according to NM Political Report.
The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Albuquerque) and Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe), would have increased cannabis production limits for licensed microbusinesses from 200 to 1,000 mature plants, as well as allow microbusinesses to wholesale products.
Last month, an emergency rule went into effect to allow New Mexico’s licensed cannabis producers to double their plant count from 10,000 to 20,000 mature plants, but the limit for microbusinesses must be increased legislatively since it is set in statute in the state’s adult-use cannabis law.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved S.B. 100 Feb 13 after Sen. Cliff Pirtle (R-Roswell) added an amendment to eliminate a requirement that cannabis license applicants must show proof of water rights in order to secure a license.
The full Senate passed the legislation the next day, after Pirtle put forth a new, more simplified amendment to address water rights. Under Pirtle’s new language, New Mexico regulators could revoke a cannabis license if the licensee uses water without legal rights to do so.
Now that S.B. 100 has failed, some water conservation advocates are relieved that the requirement for cannabis licensees to provide proof of water access remains intact, according to NM Political Report, while other industry stakeholders are frustrated that it will take another year for necessary changes to be implemented to New Mexico’s Cannabis Regulation Act.
“When the Legislature passed the Cannabis Regulation Act last year, embedded in that was a promise to revisit and continue to work on this,” Ben Lewinger, director of the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce, told the news outlet. “And Senate Bill 100 is that revisitation and it contains several provisions that are necessary for new and existing license holders, and for the industry as a whole, to launch on strong footing.”
Matt Muñoz, co-owner of Carver Family Farm, an Albuquerque-based cannabis microbusiness, told NM Political Report that “the Legislature did a disservice to all the mom-and-pop constituents out there that are trying to make this work.”
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed New Mexico’s Cannabis Regulation Act into law in April 2021. The statute requires adult-use sales to launch by April 1, 2022.
