MEDICAL POT SUPPLIER POSSIBLY COMING TO EL NORTE

Soon, Taos medical marijuana patients may not have to go all the way
to Santa Fe County to get their prescription bud.

The New Mexico Department of Health confirmed this week that it is
looking into allowing anonymous medical marijuana distributors into
the northern counties of New Mexico.

Deborah Busmeyer of the health department told The Taos News this week
that El Norte will likely have a more local distributor by year's end.

"We don't have a definite date yet, but we have more patients. Our
number of patients is always going up," Busmeyer said. "The last time
we added distributors was in July and we added six new distributors to
Dona Ana and Lea counties."

Currently, the state's medical cannabis program has nearly 2,700
active patients - 1,182 of whom are licensed to produce and distribute
medical cannabis - in addition to 11 nonprofit distribution clinics.

In Taos County, Busmeyer said there are some 114 active medical
cannabis patients - a factor that may help the department favor Taos
getting a distributor, since Busmeyer said the closest distributor is
in Santa Fe County.

"We don't have anyone distributing in Taos County yet," Busmeyer said.
"That makes a big difference in the chances."

The program allows eligible applicants to produce and distribute
medical cannabis for fellow patients on an anonymous basis to avoid
crime and theft. Only certified patients are allowed to know where and
who the distributors are.

Distributors are allowed to have 95 plants in addition to a "usable
inventory" of medical cannabis for both their own use and for
distribution.

Medical cannabis is state-approved for use against diseases like
chronic pain, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, spinal injuries, Crohn's disease,
posttraumatic stress disorder and other diseases listed on the health
department's website.

While all medical cannabis patients must be approved and certified to
partake of medical cannabis, Busmeyer said they are not required to
get their cannabis from a licensed distributor.

To learn more about medical cannabis or to apply to become a patient
or a producer, visit the state health department's website at
health.state.nm.us .