Marijuana Moment

Companies Appeal Missouri’s Revocation Of Social Equity Marijuana Licenses Tied To Out-Of-State Firms

Senator Attacks Marijuana Banking Bill At Hearing On Chinese Money Laundering

Top Ohio GOP Lawmakers Struggle To Reach Consensus On Bill To Amend Marijuana Legalization Law

Schumer Says DEA Marijuana Rescheduling Decision Is ‘Historic,’ But He Remains ‘Strongly Committed’ To Passing Banking And Legalization Bills

Lawmakers, Advocates And Stakeholders React To DEA’s Historic Marijuana Rescheduling Decision, With Many Calling For Bolder Reform

Frequent Marijuana Use Doesn’t Make People Less Motivated Or Cause Paranoia, Study Finds

Feds Announce Plan To Fund Research On Using Psychedelics To Treat Chronic Pain In Older Adults

‘No Evidence’ That Marijuana Legalization For Adults Increases Youth Cannabis Use, New Research Published By American Medical Association Finds

State Marijuana Legalization Linked To Fewer Immigrant Deportations, Study Finds

CBD Is A ‘Powerful And Promising’ Treatment For Crack Use Disorder—With Fewer Side Effects Than Conventional Therapies, Study Finds

Brands And Advocacy Groups—From ACLU To KFC—Launch 4/20 Promotions To Mark The Marijuana Holiday

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura Promotes New Cannabis Brand Ahead Of 4/20 That He’d ‘Offer To You’ On Governor’s Mansion Visit

Colorado Amendment Addresses Concerns On Banning Social Media Marijuana Posts, But Questions On Psychedelics And Other Drugs Remain

Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura Launches His Own Cannabis Brand, Fulfilling A ‘Lifelong Dream’

Marijuana Rolling Paper Company Seeks Content Creator To ‘Get Paid To Smoke Weed’ For $70,420 Salary

Massachusetts Saw Record-Breaking Marijuana Sales On 4/20, Pushing State Across $6 Billion Mark For Recreational Purchases

Legal Marijuana Purchases In Michigan Spiked In March, Reaching A New Record High

The Legal Marijuana Industry Now Supports More Than 440,000 Full-Time Jobs, Up 5% From Last Year, Report Finds

Missouri Warns Marijuana License Applicants Of ‘Predatory Practices’ Around Social Equity Status

Missouri Marijuana Worker Union Dispute Could Have Major Implications For National Labor Law

Senator Attacks Marijuana Banking Bill At Hearing On Chinese Money Laundering

Top Ohio GOP Lawmakers Struggle To Reach Consensus On Bill To Amend Marijuana Legalization Law

DeSantis Will Be ‘Getting Involved’ In Effort To Defeat Marijuana Measure On Florida Ballot

Virginia Governor’s Marijuana Veto Will Fuel Illegal Market, Lawmakers And Advocates Say

Top GOP North Carolina Senator Says Medical Marijuana Bill Could Be Merged With Hemp Regulations Measure As Compromise

DEA agrees to reschedule cannabis (Newsletter: May 1, 2024)

Cannabis rescheduling imminent, opponents say (Newsletter: April 30, 2024)

NM gov slams fed cannabis seizures in her state (Newsletter: April 29, 2024)

Lawmakers push DEA to act on cannabis (Newsletter: April 26, 2024)

Legalizing cannabis doesn’t increase youth use, AMA study finds (Newsletter: April 25, 2024)

Politics

New Mexico Governor Calls For Marijuana Legalization To Fund Medicaid Amid Coronavirus Budget Crunch

Published

on

By

The governor of New Mexico again agued that that marijuana legalization represents an economic opportunity for the state, especially amid budget shortfalls caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said at a press briefing on Thursday that the state needs to “look for innovative ways to increase economic activity.”

“Recreational cannabis is one of those areas where that’s $100 million,” she said. “It doesn’t fix it, but it plugs one of those holes [and] potentially would be enough to do a whole lot in the Medicaid gaps.”

While the governor has previously talked about the economic benefits of legalization, she proposed a more targeted use of tax revenue this time by indicating it could help fund the health care program.

Watch the governor discuss the financial advantages of marijuana legalization below, starting around 1:00:58:

In May, Lujan Grisham signaled that she may actively campaign against lawmakers who blocked her legalization bill in this year’s regular session.

“We have an opportunity,” she said at the time. “I think all of our policymakers need to think clearly—and they should expect me to be supporting in the next general election—we have to pass recreational cannabis in the state. We need to diversify our economy, we need to increase opportunity for recurring revenue and we have to rebuild an economy that has suffered dramatically during this public health crisis.”

In her most recent appearance, the governor said it was unclear whether there would be another special session this year, but she made clear that marijuana reform is one issue she wants legislators to tackle whenever they next reconvene.

It should be noted that the $100 million estimate Lujan Grisahm cited, which came out of a working group she formed to study the impact of legalization last year, is the combined tax revenue from the existing medical cannabis market and the add-on of adult-use sales. And that’s after the latter market matures.

Further, a legalization bill that passed one Senate committee earlier this year only to be rejected in another before the close of the short 30-day session stipulated that sales would have begun on July 1, meaning the state would not have been able to collect the much-needed revenue in the midst of the health crisis, unless emergency action was taken.

Lujan Grisham also said in February that she’s open to letting voters decide on the policy change via a ballot referendum.

Outside of New Mexico, other leaders are recognizing that taxing and regulating marijuana can provide a much-needed economic boost amid the coronavirus pandemic. That includes officials in American Samoa who considering legalizing medical cannabis to generate funds for Medicaid in the U.S. territory.

Last month, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) talked about his plan to address the COVID-19 crisis and included legalization prominently in his agenda.

The governor of New Jersey said in July that legalizing cannabis could simultaneously help the state recover economically from crisis while also promoting racial justice.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) was asked in May about whether marijuana legalization could serve as a tool for economic recovery and he expressed support for the proposal, stating that while the legislature hasn’t yet accomplished the policy change, “I believe we will” down the line.

Where Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Stands On Marijuana

Photo courtesy of WeedPornDaily.

IRS Releases Tax Guidance For Marijuana Industry

Virginia House And Senate Approve Marijuana Expungement Bills

Kyle Jaeger is Marijuana Moment's Sacramento-based managing editor. His work has also appeared in High Times, VICE and attn.

Companies Appeal Missouri’s Revocation Of Social Equity Marijuana Licenses Tied To Out-Of-State Firms

Senator Attacks Marijuana Banking Bill At Hearing On Chinese Money Laundering

Top Ohio GOP Lawmakers Struggle To Reach Consensus On Bill To Amend Marijuana Legalization Law

DEA agrees to reschedule cannabis (Newsletter: May 1, 2024)

Schumer Says DEA Marijuana Rescheduling Decision Is ‘Historic,’ But He Remains ‘Strongly Committed’ To Passing Banking And Legalization Bills

Lawmakers, Advocates And Stakeholders React To DEA’s Historic Marijuana Rescheduling Decision, With Many Calling For Bolder Reform

Email address:

All the cannabis news you need, all in one place. Copyright © 2017-2024 Marijuana Moment LLC ® and Tom Angell

Marijuana News In Your Inbox

Email address: