SENATE MEMORIAL 88

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Jacob R. Candelaria

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS DEPARTMENT TO STUDY DISCRIMINATION AND BARRIERS FACED BY MEDICAL CANNABIS PATIENTS IN NEW MEXICO AND OFFER POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS TO ENSURE THAT MEDICAL CANNABIS PATIENTS' RIGHTS ARE PROTECTED.

     WHEREAS, the department of health has nearly thirteen thousand New Mexicans actively enrolled in the medical cannabis program; and

     WHEREAS, since the department of health began tracking medical cannabis program participant data in 2012, an average of three hundred eighty-four new patients enroll each month and five hundred forty-five additional patients renew their enrollment each month; and

     WHEREAS, medical cannabis may be the only medicine that works to improve the quality of life for people living with debilitating conditions; and

     WHEREAS, patients often report encountering discrimination by employers, landlords, medical care providers, schools, courts and others because of medical cannabis use; and

     WHEREAS, medical cannabis laws in Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, Delaware and Rhode Island include provisions protecting patients from discrimination; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico ranks fourteenth among the states for the highest unemployment rate; and

     WHEREAS, the qualifying conditions suffered by medical cannabis patients often cause significant financial and social hardships; and

     WHEREAS, the social stigma associated with medical cannabis may prevent New Mexicans from participating in the department of health's medical cannabis program; and

     WHEREAS, two recent decisions by the New Mexico court of appeals upheld the right to use medical cannabis to alleviate symptoms from health conditions developed while on the job; and

     WHEREAS, at present, there are at least two ongoing court cases in New Mexico involving medical cannabis patients who were terminated simply for testing positive for having marijuana metabolites in their blood; and

     WHEREAS, posttraumatic stress, chronic pain and cancer afflict nearly eighty percent of the total patient population, and veterans suffer from these conditions at a greater rate than the rest of the population; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico has a history of supporting veterans as they transition after military service, including those who have been injured during their military careers; and

     WHEREAS, suicide is more prevalent among veterans than in the general population, and suicide among veterans is at an epidemic rate nationally;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the workforce solutions department be requested to study and prepare a report concerning discrimination and barriers faced by medical cannabis patients, including barriers with respect to seeking:

A. employment;

B. housing;

C. acceptance into assisted living facilities;

D. parental custody;

E. health care providers; and

F. qualification for organ transplant lists; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report include policy recommendations for preventing discrimination and reducing barriers faced by medical cannabis patients; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report define model practices and policies for employers, health care providers and landlords with respect to medical cannabis patients; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study and report be completed in consultation with representatives of:

          A. the medical cannabis program of the department of health;

          B. the New Mexico medical cannabis advisory board;

          C. the New Mexico medical cannabis patient's alliance;

          D. the veterans' services department;

          E. the children, youth and families department;

          F. the economic development department;

          G. the administrative office of the courts;

          H. the New Mexico alliance of health councils;

          I. the Bernalillo county health council;

          J. the New Mexico public health association;

          K. the New Mexico association of counties;

          L. the drug policy alliance-New Mexico; and

          M. any other appropriate entity; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study and report be presented to the interim legislative health and human services committee and the interim military and veterans' affairs committee no later than October 2015; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the legislative health and human services committee, the co-chairs of the New Mexico legislative council and the secretaries of health, workforce solutions, economic development and veterans' services.