The Land of Enchanted Munchies

The State of New Mexico is now required by its own law to grow and distribute marijuana:

SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico has a new medical marijuana law with a twist: It requires the state to grow its own.

The law, effective Sunday, not only protects medical marijuana users from prosecution — as 11 other states do — but requires New Mexico to oversee a production and distribution system for the drug.

"The long-term goal is that the patients will have a safe, secure supply that doesn't mean drug dealers, that doesn't mean growing their own," said Reena Szczepanski, director of Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico.

The state Department of Health must issue rules by Oct. 1 for the licensing of marijuana producers and in-state, secured facilities, and for developing a distribution system.

The law was passed in March and signed by Gov. Bill Richardson, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Well, that explains all the snack food at Richardson's campaign events.

The article mentions that California is one of those states that protects users of medical marijuana from arrest. Not at Sonoma State University. We were told in no uncertain language that marijuana in all forms is banned from the campus, and if a student "requires" medical marijuana, he or she (or it, as is sometimes the case up here) cannot live in campus housing. Showing up under the influence will also get you kicked out. Given the liberal approach to almost everything else around here, I was a little surprised to hear that, but they can't afford to risk the federal funds that would be lost if they allowed students to break federal law.