MEDICAL MARIJUANA: MONTOYA TAKES ON NEW POT LAW

County Commissioner Harry Montoya said Wednesday that he disapproves
of the state's new medical-marijuana law and will try to use his
elected position to prevent sanctioned cultivation or distribution in
Santa Fe county.

Montoya is president and chief executive of a nonprofit called Hands
Across Cultures, which works to prevent and treat substance abuse,
among other goals. As a commissioner, he represents District 1, which
is primarily in the northern part of the county and includes Nambe and Chimayo.

Montoya said the new state law, which legalizes the medicinal use of
marijuana by people with cancer, epilepsy, AIDS, glaucoma and spinal
cord injuries, sends a mixed message to young people.

"Socially, morally, ethically and physically, this is not a good
policy," Montoya said Wednesday, speaking at news conference he
called to discuss his opposition to the law.

Diego Lopez, an employee of Hands Across Cultures, said the law,
which took effect in July, works against the group's efforts to
increase young people's awareness of the ill effects of drug and
alcohol use. "They're looking at it as something healthy," Lopez said.

Montoya, a Democrat, said he was breaking party lines by opposing the
law, which was adopted by a state Legislature dominated by Democrats
and supported by New Mexico's Democratic governor, Bill Richardson.
Montoya noted he has opposed the measure publicly since 1997.

Montoya said it was "no secret" that Richardson had received $50,000
from the Drug Policy Alliance, a group that works to reform drug policies.

Montoya said one of his main problems with the law is it conflicts
with federal law. He said he thinks the plant "has its proper
medicinal use and purpose" in a pill form called Marinol, but he
doesn't agree with the state's decision to legalize the smoking of
marijuana by those certified to use the plant.

He commended the Department of Health for its recent reluctance to
implement a marijuana-distribution system outlined in the law because
it could put state employees at risk for federal prosecution.

Department of Health spokeswoman Deborah Busemeyer said the
department is going to revisit the possibility of distributing
medical marijuana, as was intended by the legislators.

"In the meantime, we're still certifying patients that are eligible
to posses it," she said. "We don't' think there is any mixed message.
It's about providing relief for people that are suffering from
chronic conditions. It's a medical program."

County Sheriff Greg Solano, who acknowledged he is not "in sync" with
most law enforcement thinking on the issue, said he thinks the state
should grow and distribute marijuana so patients who are legally
allowed to smoke it can do so safely.

"I do think medical marijuana is a good idea in a very strict number
of cases," said Solano, who recently announced plans to run for
lieutenant governor. "But I'm not in favor of grow-your-own or people
buying it on the streets. I would only support medical marijuana if
it was grown and distributed by the state."