HEALTH AGENCY WOULD BE IN CHARGE OF MARIJUANA INVENTORY

SANTA FE - The question is fairly straightforward: Can the state be in
charge of growing and distributing marijuana to patients who qualify to use
it for medical purposes?

State Department of Health officials were skeptical about the prospect of
being in charge of the marijuana, which is why they wanted to simply allow
patients to grow the pot themselves.

But some legislators felt more comfortable with the state being in charge.

The bill that decriminalizes the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes,
Senate Bill 8, was changed Thursday to put the onus on the Health
Department to create rules for a medicinal cannabis, or marijuana, program.

The department would "ensure that the cannabis produced for the program is
grown only in a secure facility and that the producer of the cannabis
provides an inventory of the product at regular intervals."

Sen. Roman Maes, the Santa Fe Democrat who sponsored the bill, assured the
Public Affairs Committee that the measure will meet constitutional muster.
The committee passed the bill unanimously, and sent it on to the Senate
Judiciary Committee.

Cliff Rees, an attorney at the Health Department, said after Thursday's
committee hearing that the issue could end up in court.

"There is a conflict," Rees conceded, "that will ultimately be decided,
probably in court."

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that federal drug laws banning the
possession of marijuana do not make an exception for medical patients.

The Supreme Court case involved an Oakland "buyers cooperative" that
distributed marijuana under a California law. The court ruled unanimously
that the cooperative was violating federal law.

Proponents of the bill making its way through the New Mexico Legislature
say the Supreme Court ruling did not directly address the idea of a state
government producing and distributing the drug.

Legislators also questioned whether the state could be inviting legal
problems by contracting with a company or individual to grow the marijuana.

Randall Harris, the district attorney in Clovis, told the committee he
believes the bill will be ripe for a constitutional challenge.

"It is my opinion that it would be in line with the Supreme Court cases
that make this bill unconstitutional," Harris said.

Rees said if the bill becomes law, and is challenged in court, the state
will have plenty of ways to defend the law.