New Mexico became the 17th state to legalize recreational marijuana on Monday.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed legislation that will allow adults over 21 to use and grow marijuana for recreational purposes by June with some restrictions. Beginning in 2022, the state will form a legal, regulated market to begin sales, aiming to shore up its state economy through an excise tax on cannabis products.
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“This legislation is a major, major step forward for our state. Legalized adult-use cannabis is going to change the way we think about New Mexico for the better — our workforce, our economy, our future,” Lujan Grisham said in a tweet.
✅ SIGNED: Special Session HB 2, legalizing adult-use cannabis in New Mexico!
This legislation is a major, major step forward for our state. Legalized adult-use cannabis is going to change the way we think about New Mexico for the better – our workforce, our economy, our future. pic.twitter.com/rosl1AJm6t
— Michelle Lujan Grisham (@GovMLG) April 12, 2021
The law will also let people with previous marijuana convictions expunge their records and allow people currently serving a sentence for a marijuana-related crime to be eligible for resentencing, according to a report by Vox.
New Mexico legalized marijuana for medical purposes back in 2007.
Recreational cannabis is legal in 16 other states and Washington, D.C. The signing in New Mexico follows similar measures approved in New York and Virginia, the latter being the first southern state to embrace recreational cannabis.
With other states such as Delaware and Minnesota also debating bills on legalization, 2021 could set a record for the highest number of new legalization laws enacted in a single year if just two more states pass bills on the issue, according to Marijuana Moment.
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Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, though the Democratic-controlled Senate has taken steps to at least loosen restrictions on cannabis. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told Politico last week that he and others would be willing to move forward with federal marijuana reform legislation without the support of President Joe Biden.
Biden supports legalizing the drug for medical use as well as decriminalizing possession, but the White House says his position on full legalization remains in opposition, as it did on the campaign trail. In late 2019, Biden made headlines after he stated part of his opposition to legalizing recreational cannabis was because it could be a “gateway drug.”
