MEDICAL MARIJUANA: IT'S TIME TO SANCTION IT

It wasn't billed as the session on drugs, but the New Mexico
Legislature definitely has a full plate of proposed drug laws,
several of which merit passage. At the top of the list is the
perennial effort to give state approval to the use of medical
marijuana. Pass it, already.

Sanctioning the limited use of prescribed marijuana for the relief of
pain or nausea - particularly in cancer patients, including those
taking radiation or chemical therapy - is the right and humane thing
to do, despite continuing federal efforts to keep it a crime. Eleven
other states allow for medical marijuana.

If it provides relief - and the evidence is overwhelming that it does
- - and it can be medically prescribed, regulated and used in a safe
manner, medical marijuana should be allowed in New Mexico. In fact,
there really is no compelling state or federal reason to block its use.

On the other side of the drug fence, the Legislature is considering a
broad measure that would crack down on the manufacture, use and abuse
of methamphetamine. It, too, is overdue, for several good reasons.

Meth abuse is clearly on the rise and, like other drug abuse, is a
threat to far more than the abusers and traffickers.

Dangerous meth labs, all too frequently set up in neighborhood houses
where young children reside, represent a special threat to children
and neighborhoods.

The problem is worthy of new state legislation that would impose more
severe penalties for trafficking in meth, as well as a separate
measure to restrict the sale of pseudoephedrine. This is a prime
ingredient used by the makeshift labs to churn out the highly
addictive meth. The Legislature would be wise to approve both
measures, which aim to attack the supply of meth, making it more
difficult and risky for meth producers.

Finally and unfortunately, legislative efforts to provide more money
for drug abuse treatment was derailed last week, when about $2
million to fund it was stripped from the House version of the main
budget bill. The Senate and Gov. Bill Richardson should restore the
money to the state budget, because in addition to increasing
penalties and attacking the street supply, the state should be doing
more to help addicts kick the habit.

To realize how fruitful this path can be, state legislators need only
read Tribune reporter Kate Nash's Saturday report, "Target: Meth." It
details worthy efforts by former drug abuser Tani Gallup to set up a
drug recovery house, Casa de Amigas, for women in Albuquerque.

"We really need the help in Albuquerque," says Gallup, noting that
"there's a lot of people who want to get clean."

Meth is more than just a drug problem, and New Mexico officials will
fight it best with a broad arsenal of laws and funding, including
providing more deterrents and ways for those addicted to get the meth
monkey off their backs.