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 Nambé and Chimayó.

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.”

Contact Phaedra Haywood at 986-3068 or phaywood@sfnewmexican.com.