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Our Progress Will Carry Us Forward in New Mexico
Reena Szczepanski | Drug Policy Alliance | 02/17/2006

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.
--Theodore Roosevelt

It with great sadness that I recount the legislative fate of our medical marijuana bill. But it is not with a feeling of total defeat. For our movement, there is much that we can be proud of and celebrate from the last 30 days. We have made progress that will not recede, that will carry us forward through the next year and through the 2007 legislative session.

As you remember, SB 258 was tabled last Saturday in the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee after an emotional hearing. Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, stated in that hearing that the bill had been sent to that committee to kill it.

The combined pressure and outrage of you, our members, and our legislative team, forced the Speaker's hand. On Wednesday afternoon, House Speaker Ben Lujan made a successful motion to withdraw SB 258 from the table in the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee and place it into the House Judiciary Committee. We were heard in the Committee at 3:30 AM on Thursday morning, and passed the committee 7-3.

We regained hope for the bill, and waited all Thursday morning in hopes that the bill would be raised for a floor vote. Ultimately, Republicans filibustered most of the morning and the two Representatives who were committed to getting the bill heard on the floor never got the chance to make the motion. Once the Republicans finally ended the filibuster at 11:55 am, Speaker Lujan spoke for the last few minutes of the 2006 session, dashing any hope that the bill could be heard. You can read more about the last hours of the session here.

You can be proud that we were successful in getting Governor Richardson to issue the message that allowed the bill to be heard. We sailed through the Senate with a stunning final vote of 34-6. We successfully negotiated with the Speaker to get the bill out of the Agriculture Committee. And finally, we should celebrate the amazing advocates who gave generously of their energy, privacy, and sleep to make sure that we left no stone unturned in the effort to pass this legislation. They put tears in the eyes of our fiercest opponents with their heartfelt testimony. They took time from work to walk the halls of the Capitol. And when they heard, "No," they did not give up.

In particular, Erin Armstrong and Essie DeBonet showed tremendous leadership and courage as patients' rights advocates during the session. Special thanks to others: Fred MacDonald and Leo Atreides of NM NORML, Brad Brooks and Melissa Milam of DPA, Valerie Hubbard, Sage Davis and other advocates who may prefer to remain unnamed but whose efforts moved the hearts of legislators. Finally, I want to thank our bill sponsor, Senator Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, whose courage and commitment are unforgettable, who kept our spirits high when we felt all hope was lost, and who worked tirelessly to get this bill through.

We had other victories on methamphetamine-related legislation and funding, which I will email you about next week. Right now, the governor is debating whether to call for a special session to advance some of his priority initiatives that did not pass, including the minimum wage bill. There is always hope that he would include medical marijuana in this agenda.

Thank you so much for your unwavering commitment to sick and dying patients in New Mexico.

Sincerely,

Reena Szczepanski
Director, Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico

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