Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers in the state of New Mexico are introducing legislation that could legalize marijuana in the state.
“The reason I decided to do it this time is I got frustrated with the fact that I think people want us to do this in pretty high numbers,” Democratic Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto said.
New Mexico governor has even been pushing for lawmakers to legalize recreational marijuana
Ivey-Soto is introducing a bill to legalize recreational adult use of cannabis for the first time. “We need to make sure we have a bill that will pass,” Ivey-Soto exclaimed.
According to Ivey-Soto’s program, private businesses would control the sale of cannabis as opposed to the state, and it would be taxed 21%.
“We divert a lot of law enforcement resources to something that is more of a nuisance as opposed to something that puts other peoples’ safety at risk,” Ivey-Soto said.
Republican Senator Cliff R. Pirtle is also trying to get a marijuana bill passed. “I want to have a bill that is at least close enough that I will have a seat at the table about how some of the regulations are,” he said.
Pirtle said his bill would keep taxes low by imposing a 2% excise tax on top of local gross receipt taxes and would give a portion of the money made to the Department of Public Safety to help crackdown on impaired drivers. “For me, if it passes or doesn’t it’s not a personal desire of mine,” Pirtle said. “I just feel if it is going to pass, there are some issues I think are important we maintain.”
