New Mexico

As we previously alerted, HB 346 amends the Hemp Manufacturing Act to give the Environment Department authority over finished hemp products at retail.  In addition, the bill imposes a prohibition on synthetic cannabinoids and semi-synthetic cannabinoids, by banning the receipt, possession, adverting, marketing, and sale of synthetic and semi-synthetic cannabinoids in New Mexico.  While we support efforts to ban purely synthetic products, we oppose efforts to ban semi-synthetics such as converted Delta-8 and Delta-9 THC products. The bill has now passed the House and the Senate and is headed to the governor’s desk.

Please ask Governor Lujan Grisham to veto this bill and consider a regulatory framework that models what many other states have chosen—stronger enforcement, licensing for manufacturers and sellers, independent testing of hemp products, adequate labeling which prohibits child-enticing images, and age restrictions for consumable hemp products. These reasonable restrictions ensure that adult consumers have direct access to the products they need, while keeping intoxicating products out of the hands of children.