New Mexico Judge Issues Ruling In Marijuana Reciprocity Case
The health department said the agency is complying with the ruling
A state district judge cleared the way Tuesday for hundreds of patients to be re-authorized to participate in New Mexico’s medical marijuana program.
The ruling stemmed from a challenge of a mandate issued in September and a subsequent emergency rule adopted by the state health department just weeks later that placed additional requirements on some patients with medical marijuana cards from other states.
Ultra Health, the state’s largest cannabis company, asked the court to step in. It argued that the agency overstepped the intention of the state Legislature and created more hurdles for patients seeking to gain reciprocal admission into the New Mexico program.
Judge Matthew Wilson said the agency’s justification for adopting the emergency rule in early October was inadequate and therefore unenforceable. He wrote that neither statutes nor existing rules required that a patient’s government issued identification and medical cannabis card be issued by the same jurisdiction where the person lives.
Health department spokesman David Morgan said the agency is complying with the ruling and that all 323 people affected by the decision will once again be able to buy from licensed cannabis providers in the state.
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