I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Citing a need for citywide regulations, Farmington city councilors instituted a moratorium on providing new permits for medical marijuana producers. The city councilors voted to institute the moratorium by a 3-1 vote at Tuesday night’s meeting.
The Farmington Daily-Times reported that the six-month moratorium came after New Mexico Alternative Care contacted Farmington in hopes of becoming a medical marijuana producer in Farmington.
“The city’s unified development code currently does not address the growth, production and/or distribution of medical cannabis,” Mary Holton, the city’s Community Development director, wrote in a memo to the City Council.
New Mexico’s medical marijuana program went into effect in 2007 and is unique in that state health officials oversee the production and distribution system. The producers of medical marijuana in the state are nonprofits.
Earlier this year, The Independent reported that the state increased the number of medical marijuana providers from 11 to 17. This came after the 11 nonprofits could not keep up with demand from medical marijuana patients.
There are 16 conditions for which medical cannabis is allowed: severe chronic pain, painful peripheral neuropathy, intractable nausea/vomiting, severe anorexia/cachexia, hepatitis C infection currently receiving antiviral treatment, Crohn’s disease, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Inflammatory Autoimmune-mediated Arthritis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with intractable spasticity, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, and hospice care.
Gov.-elect Susana Martinez says she would like to repeal the medical marijuana program but would face challenges in any repeal.
