Conflicting views on pot pit states against Feds

The conflict inherent in having states allow the use of marijuana while the federal government does not is playing out in New Mexico, and it begs an interesting question about legislative intent.

The New Mexico Crime Victims Reparation Commission, established in 1981 to assist victims of violent crime, has refunded the U.S. Department of Justice $7,630 after independent investigators found the commission erroneously used federal grant money to reimburse crime victims for the cost of their medical marijuana.

Last year, the commission distributed $7.6 million to assist crime victims, according to its 2016 annual report.

Commission director Frank Zubia said the reimbursement was unintentional, and that the agency will now use state money to reimburse qualified crime victims for their medical marijuana. We have to wonder whether state lawmakers ever envisioned using state money to purchase marijuana for crime victims when they passed the medical marijuana law — officially the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act — back in 2007. At that time there were seven qualifying conditions that could be easily medically documented, including cancer and HIV/AIDS.

Now there are more than 20, including the very real (and very easily gamed) conditions of PTSD and severe pain.

Things are likely to get even more confusing; President Trump has said that marijuana legalization should be left up to individual states. Yet his appointee as U.S. Attorney General, Alabama Republican Jeff Sessions, has stated a number of times that he’s against marijuana legalization, that marijuana is “dangerous,” and that the benefits of medical marijuana have been “hyped” by proponents.

Sessions apparently is unaware that 23 states now have medical marijuana programs and three others are about to join the ranks. Perhaps Sessions assumes all of those programs were implemented without solid scientific evidence of the efficacy of medicinal pot, or he missed that numerous polls show a majority of Americans favor legislation to allow recreational marijuana use.

Seven states and the District of Columbia have adopted laws legalizing recreational marijuana — including California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada, which all passed similar measures in November. New Mexico legislators have introduced recreational marijuana bills, though none has passed.

It’s clear that marijuana use, both medical and recreational, is being more widely accepted than ever before (Canada being the most recent example), and that Sessions’ hard line on pot is not only out of step with a majority of the populace, it’s bound to trigger more conflicts between federal law enforcement and the states.

Although the Crime Victims Reparation Commission quickly defused its situation by shifting the funding source for its medical marijuana reimbursements from the feds to the state, you have to wonder if the legislative class of 2007 would have supported using state funds to pay for marijuana use. Other states are likely facing similar issues. And all these conflicts will be unavoidable until states, Sessions and Trump get on the same page.