One state senator wants to outlaw synthetic marijuana in New Mexico.
Sen. Sue Wilson Beffort (R-Sandia Park) introduced a bill that would ban synthetic cannabinoids and fine anyone caught using or selling it.
Beffort said children’s safety is at stake.
“(Parents) might not know that their children are getting high on harmless-sounding products like incense, potpourri and bath salts,” she said. “That high can lead to terrible complications. We want to protect our children and our communities. We need to ban these products and make their distribution and use illegal.”
Synthetic marijuana is sold in smoke shops under the popular brand K2 Spice.
The product came under fire after a report from New Mexico parole officers said parolees are using Spice to achieve a “legal high.” Critics also question the drug’s safety.
Senate Bill 134 was sent to the Senate Finance Committee to determine its fiscal impact after it reached the Senate floor for a full vote.
If the bill is passed, synthetic marijuana will be classified as a schedule I drug, which means it will fall into the same category as substances like heroin, marijuana and cocaine.
The New Mexico Corrections Department said banning a new drug would create more criminal felony prosecutions that put more people in jail and on parole. The state might not be able to handle administrative costs associated with the increase of synthetic marijuana smokers in the criminal system.
The NMCD said in a report to the Legislative Finance Committee that it was concerned the bill would create a criminal misdemeanor for anyone distributing and in possession of Spice.
Student Jonathan Morgan said he disagrees with the state’s efforts to ban the product.
“I think it’s sort of stupid they want to get rid of Spice,” he said. “But if they legalized real marijuana, then people wouldn’t have to buy the fake stuff.”
Campus Safety
The Senate passed a bill that would allow campus police to write traffic tickets for city traffic violations.
S.B. 267 was sponsored by Sen. Steven Neville (R-Farmington) to help deter parking violations at San Juan College, located in his district. The bill would give campus police the authority to issue traffic violations at all New Mexico colleges.
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“I understand there are abuses of handicapped parking spaces, and people are parking wherever they want, causing traffic problems,” Neville said.
The bill passed the Senate 20-13, and now goes to the House for a vote.
Neville said his bill will take burden off overstretched municipal law enforcement officers.
“This bill will help the college get a handle on their parking situation on campus when city police are not available to ticket offenders,” he said.
Scholarship bill extended to the Senate
The Senate Judiciary Committee gave a do-pass recommendation to a bill that would allow high school graduates up to 16 months to apply for the Lottery Scholarship.
H.B. 62, sponsored by Rep. Bill O’Neill (D-Albuquerque) will now be voted on the by the full Senate. If passed, it will only need a signature from the governor to become law.
The bill received unanimous support from the House of Representatives.
Under current legislation, students who want to receive the Lottery Scholarship must apply to a public university immediately after high school graduation.
Many UNM groups oppose extending the Lottery Scholarship because the Lottery Scholarship fund is slowly running out.
No data has been compiled during this year’s legislative session that would confirm the bill would have a negative impact.
Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas (D-Albuquerque) introduced a similar bill in 2007. That bill never made it out of committee, partly because of a study that said it would be bad for the Lottery Scholarship fund.
The Legislative Finance Committee cited that study in a 2011 report on the current bill.
“I understand the hurdles that came with that bill,” O’Neill said. “My constituents told me they wanted this, and I was fortunate that representative Moe Maestas allowed me to take over trying to extend the Lottery Scholarship to students who can’t attend college right away.”
