Bill is trying to ease restrictions on medical cannabis for New Mexico firefighters

The proposed legislation “would narrow the definition of ‘safety sensitive position'” under the state’s medical cannabis law, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. This provision has barred first responders and firefighters from participating in New Mexico’s medical marijuana program, which began in 2007.

“As proposed, the definition would include only workers who are required to carry a firearm or operate a vehicle with a commercial driver’s license and ‘whose performance under the influence of drugs or alcohol would present an immediate or imminent danger to the person to be injured or killed person or another.’ State law currently defines a “safety sensitive position” ineligible for the broader medicinal cannabis program and prohibits firefighters from using medicinal cannabis without their employer’s permission,” the publication reported.

The law has the backing of local fire service unions.

“We would adopt a responsible policy to address anything like alcohol, not just alcohol but other prescribed drugs that we are not allowed to use at work,” Miguel Tittmann, President of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) 244 said local news channel KOAT.

“We couldn’t use medical marijuana so many hours before the shift if we were able to negotiate a responsible policy.”

Christopher Johnson, the president of IAFF 2362 in Las Cruces, echoed these sentiments.

“I think our big hope was that that could be resolved at the state level, which would open the door for local governments to make that distinction and allow them to use it,” Johnson told KOAT.

The bill is currently under consideration by a committee in the state House of Representatives.

Democrats hold majorities in both houses of the New Mexico Legislature.

The state’s Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has also been found to be pro-cannabis.

In 2021, she signed legislation legalizing adult use of marijuana in New Mexico, which she hailed as an economic coup for the state.

“The legalization of adult-use cannabis paves the way for the creation of a new economic engine in our state with the promise of creating thousands of high-paying jobs for years to come,” Grisham said at the time. “We will increase consumer safety by creating a real industry. We will begin to right the past wrongs of this country’s failed drug war. And we will be breaking new ground in an industry that could change New Mexico’s economic future for the better.”

“As we try to recover from the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, entrepreneurs will benefit from this great opportunity to start lucrative new businesses, the state and local governments will benefit from the additional revenue and, more importantly, workers will benefit from the opportunity to land new types of jobs and build careers,” added Grisham.

Grisham said the measure was “a big, big step forward for our state.”

“Legalized adult-use cannabis will change the way we think about New Mexico for the better—our workforce, our economy, our future. We are ready to break new ground. We are ready to invest in ourselves and the limitless potential of the New Mexicans. And we are ready to work to make this industry successful,” the governor said.

December sales of medicinal and recreational cannabis in New Mexico totaled more than $40 million.