ABQ Times

While cannabis for medical use is legal in New Mexico, those who are on house arrest are not afforded the same rights as others, according to at least one state senator.

The state legislature passed a bill last year that added protections to medical cannabis users to help those qualified from being fired or losing custody of their children, as well as those in pre-trial custody or on probation or parole. But as New Mexico will be debating the merits of legalizing recreational marijuana sometime this year, many remain unclear on the new medical marijuana law's guidelines about those on house arrest or already in prison, according to the New Mexico Political Report.

New Mexico state Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino (D-Albuquerque) told the Political Report that the law applies only to those awaiting trial and not those already in custody, including people under house arrest.

New Mexico state Sen. Jacob Candelaria (D-Albuquerque) believes people under house arrest should be included in the new medical cannabis protections. | https://www.nmlegis.gov/

“After their sentence, then they would be subject to the same restrictions that anybody would be in jail or prison," Ortiz y Pino said.

Sen. Jacob Candelaria (D-Albuquerque) told the publication that if the law does not in fact allow for patients in prisons or under house arrest to be given access to medical cannabis, it should be amended. 

“People have a constitutional right to receive medical care while they’re incarcerated, and if they have that right while they’re incarcerated they should have that right when they leave," Candelaria said.

New Mexico Policy Manager for the Drug Policy Alliance Jessica Gelay said her organization believes that people should not lose their rights because they are incarcerated.

"Medical cannabis patients face discrimination in all walks of life, which is why protections are needed in order to dismantle stigma and permit access," Gelay told the Political Report.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishman has said that she wants to add the legalization of recreational marijuana to topics to discuss this year.