It is now official: New Mexico will transition from a Medical Marijuana state to a fully Recreational state over the course of the next few months. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the legislation yesterday. I spoke to Colt DeMorris, founder and executive director of El Paso NORML, about the legislation and how it will be implemented.

Here are some of the key points he clarified for me:

-The recreational marijuana status goes into effect “no later than April 1, 2022”.

-Beginning June 29th, New Mexico residents will be able to grow marijuana plants on their own property. Home growers can grow up to 6 plants per person or 12 plants per household.

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-Local governments may not prohibit marijuana businesses from opening. Say there’s a town somewhere that is very opposed to having a marijuana dispensary in their fair city. Tough. The law says there will be no “reverse sanctuary cities” for marijuana prohibition.

- Non-New Mexico residents will be able to purchase. As soon as the legislation goes into effect, New Mexico dispensaries will sell to adults 25 or older regardless of what state they live in.

-It will still be illegal to transport marijuana, legal or otherwise, across state lines. ESPECIALLY across the Texas state line.

-I think this bears repeating: the recreational marijuana legislation may go into effect before…but NO LATER than…April 1, 2022.

As far as when Texas might join the growing number of states to decriminalize weed, no one can say for sure. Colt DeMorris has been on the frontlines of THAT particular battle for years…long before it was popular or even politically acceptable to be pro-marijuana. If you would like to stay up-to-date on legalization efforts in the Lone Star state check out the work of the Texas Cannabis Collective here.

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