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NM Marijuana Bill to Be Heard Today!

Our Thanks to NM Watchman Jose Vasquez for this report!

                                                                                          February 11, 2020
Dear Friends, 
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hear Cannabis Regulation Act, SB 115 tomorrow Wednesday, February 12, 2020 at 2:30 p.m. or following the close of the floor session in Room 321.
 
The Marijuana bill claims to be the panacea for all of New Mexico’s financial ills, promising 11,000 high paying jobs. 
 
The law has proven a disaster in Colorado where it is reported that for every dollar acquired, $4.50 is spent mitigating the disastrous results.  Every 3 days, a traffic death results from marijuana consumption.
 
For remarkable report on the cost of the legislation in Colorado referenced by the New Mexico Business Coalition see: https://cdn-centennial.pressidium.com/centennial/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Economic-and-Social-Costs-of-Legalized-Marijuana-CO.pdf .
In addition, the promise that drug cartels would be eliminated has proven contrary to that assurance.  More cartel involvement has followed legalization.  See the follow PBS news story:
Please, if at all possible, attend tomorrow’s meeting. 
Please urge committee members to Vote NO, vote against
the Cannabis Regulation Act.
Lastly but most importantly, please PRAY for each of the committee member and sponsors of the bill.
Bill Sponsors:
Senate Judiciary Committee
Senator Joseph Cervantes, Chair, D-Las Cruses
joseph@cervanteslawnm.com
(505) 986-4861
Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto, Vice Chair, D-Albuquerque
daniel.ivey-soto@nmlegis.gov
(505) 986-4270
Senator William H. Payne, Ranking Member, R-Albuquerque
william.payne@nmlegis.gov
(505) 986-4703
Senator Gregory A. Baca, R-Belen
greg.baca@nmlegis.gov
(505) 986-4877
Senator Ron Griggs, R-Alamogordo
ron.griggs@nmlegis.gov
(505) 986-4391
Senator Linda M. Lopez, D-Albuquerque
linda.lopez@nmlegis.gov
(505) 986-4737
Senator Richard C. Martinez, D-Espanola
richard.martinez@nmlegis.gov
(505) 986-4487
Senator Mark Moores, R-Albuquerque
mark.moores@nmlegis.gov
(505) 986-4856
Senator Bill B. O’Neill, D-Albuquerque
neillsd13@billoneillfornm.com
(505) 986-4260
Senator Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque
mimi.stewart@nmlegis.gov
(505) 986-4726
Senator Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe
 
God bless you for your concern for New Mexico and God bless New Mexico.
 
New Mexico Watchman
              “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit…”
                                                                        Ephesian 5:18
New Mexico Watchman, 3600 Cerrillos 714C-908, Santa Fe, NM 87507

Past Posts:

Legalized pot is all about the MONEY for the state and peoples pockets, it is not about the well-being of people and the future of our children. Money rules in this world we live in, not whats best for God’s people!

People of God, you must take to your knees during this session.

I wonder how many POT HEADS are driving in New Mexico today?

How many in New Mexico are driving drunk? or drunk at home, or at the bar?

How many ABORTIONS in New Mexico today?

How many children are being abused today in New Mexico?

How many children are hungry today in New Mexico?

How many children are homeless in New Mexico?

How many are high on drugs in New Mexico today?

How many violent crimes will be committed in New Mexico today?

Where is the moral code for New Mexico?

Where are The Ten Commandments placed and upheld in New Mexico?

Are we a state of DEATH?

From July 23rd of 2019 from Chuck Akeley of Albuquerque:

“Legalization” Of Marijuana In New Mexico – Is This Really A Good Idea?

 

In our country and yes, our state, it has become almost fashionable to support the growth and use of marijuana, whether for medicinal use or recreational use.  So much so, that even our state executive and many legislators consider government sanctioned and controlled distribution of marijuana to be a worthy effort as means to acquire tax dollars.  Let’s consider some of the well-established issues facing New Mexico.  For many years, we’ve been rated at the bottom or almost the bottom for quality of education, children living in poverty, drug use (e.g., opioid use), drug trafficking (I-40, I-10, I-25 and the southern border corridors) and DWI offenders (including the associated deaths).  Is there really wisdom in enhancing these issues by creating a culture of “legalized” use of marijuana here in New Mexico?

 

A wise man once told me that if you have any doubt as to whether to do or say something, then ask yourself, would you look to Jesus and say “Lord, I do this thing as unto You” or “Lord, I give You thanks for this which I am about to do.”  If the answer is no, then why are you doing it?  Would you ask Jesus to bless your firing up of a joint or bowl or eating of a laced edible so that you would experience a high?  The scripture says we should seek His wisdom.  According to Proverbs 4:7, “[w]isdom is the principal thing; [t]herefore get wisdom [NKJV].”  Ephesians 5:15-21 instructs us to walk in wisdom:  “[s]ee then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ [NKJV].”  Just because we CAN do something doesn’t necessarily mean we SHOULD do something.

 

My background includes a few years as a Special Agent with the USAF Office of Special Investigations, during which much of the training involved drug enforcement.  I spent the first year after completing the initial academy leading the Travis AFB, CA Joint Drug Enforcement Team and subsequently worked for several years at Holloman AFB, NM participating in drug enforcement operations with the other agents.  Once you have strapped on the equipment and executed a few warrants, you tend to develop a very different perspective about “low level drug use,” as the small amounts of drugs came from someone who was probably not your next door neighbor, and that person’s drugs came from a trafficker – a very dangerous person.  The perspective that I’m not hurting anyone is a big lie.  It is not surprising to me that the military and local or state police have had to lower standards in order to acquire acceptable cadets.  Today, our children and youth often do things as a result of cultural or peer influences which can devastate future employment opportunities.  How much worse it is when our children’s parents are the ones modeling this behavior?  I thank God that our Lord is forgiving and merciful, and am reminded that we are called to forgive others and to help guide our friends, family and others unto salvation and into their God-given destiny!

 

It’s interesting to hear discussions about “legalizing” recreational use of marijuana at the state level.  If a state allows something that is forbidden at the federal level, it is not really legal, but what is happening is that the federal government has elected, as a matter of enforcement discretion, to refrain from seeking prosecution under certain circumstances and the state has elected to ignore existing federal code or statutes.  The federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”), 21 USC 812, establishes five schedules of controlled substances, identified as Schedules I, II, III, IV and V.  Schedule I lists substances that have been determined to have:  1) a high potential for abuse; 2) no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States; and 3) a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or substance under medical supervision.  The psychoactive substance in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”), remains to this day a listed Schedule I substance.  Because of this, many states have struggled with the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana and declare legality, when in point of fact, what is occurring is simply enforcement discretion at the federal level and a glaring lack of willingness of the federal government to take a solid position one way or the other.

 

There is MUCH remaining to be said about this issue, including the increasing levels of THC in modern-grown marijuana plants provided by dispensaries and technologically-advanced illicit grows, the lack of clear means for law enforcement to easily determine the degree of driving impairment compared to determining alcohol impairment, the effect that such has or may have on us developmentally, mentally and physically, the wisdom and procedure for assuring sound regulatory controls at the federal and state level – and assuming this issue isn’t going away quickly, the spiritual implications of encouraging, yet another mind altering substance for use by our residents, demonstrating yet again, the wisdom of man in the face of the wisdom of God.

 

Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask that You would speak to the hearts of those in a position to encourage, allow, regulate and/or spend tax dollars on marijuana matters in our beautiful State of New Mexico (and across this nation).  Give us ears to hear and eyes to see what is the will of God.  May wisdom guide our discussions and determinations, with a mighty hedge of protection over all who are doing Your will and serving Your people, in light of this challenge.  But regardless, help us to always love.  Always.  Amen.

 

Chuck Akeley

Albuquerque, New Mexico

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