Governor signs cannabis expungement processing bill!

In April 2023, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed HB 314 into law, seeking to make the expungement process for prior cannabis convictions more efficient. The legislationnew law will allow people to verify the status of their expungement and request expedited processing for charges that have yet to be handled by the courts.

New Mexico’s 2021 legalization law included automatic expungements and resentencing provisions, but the courts have experienced technical issues with processing certain cases. This new law seeks to resolve those problems.

New Mexico announces $300 million in adult use cannabis sales in first year

.Adult-use cannabis sales officially began in New Mexico on Friday, April 1, 2022, New Mexicans 21 and older can make retail purchases of cannabis at dispensaries across the state. The state announced that it saw more than $300 million in adult-use sales in the first year since the market launched.

In 2021, New Mexico became the 18th state to legalize adult-use cannabis and the fifth to do so through the legislative process rather than by voter initiative.

The law officially went into effect on June 29, 2021. Adults can legally possess up to two ounces of cannabis and cultivate up to six mature plants. You can read a summary of the law, which was HB 2, here.

Medical marijuana

New Mexico is one of 38 states (plus D.C.) that have removed criminal penalties for the medical use of marijuana. In June 2019, the New Mexico Department of Health added six new qualifying conditions (opioid use disorder, autism spectrum disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, Friedreich’s Ataxia, Lewy Body Disease, and spinal muscular atrophy) to the state’s medical cannabis program, raising the total number of qualifying conditions to 28.

The legislature and governor also enacted SB 406 during the 2019 session to expand the state’s medical cannabis program. SB 406 includes reciprocity for visiting patients, allows home growers to pay manufacturers to process their cannabis, allows patients to renew their medical cannabis cards every three years rather than annually, and includes employment protections for medical cannabis patients. 

In another positive development, in a 2018 court ruling, a judge overturned the 450-plant cap imposed on licensed nonprofit producers, finding it was arbitrary. Many patients had suffered from a lack of supply and high prices due to the cap. On March 1 2019, the Department of Health temporarily increased the plant count to 2,500 plants.

For information on New Mexico’s medical marijuana program, including information on qualifying conditions and how to become a patient, please visit the New Mexico Health Department’s information page.

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