New Mexico Expands Medical Marijuana Availability

In this morning's Albuquerque Journal, an editorial column was published which called for the disclosure of the names and locations of New Mexico's four new medical marijuana producers.

The program recently expanded from one state-sanctioned producer to five after the original producer ran out of supplies.

While we aren't weighing-in on whether or not medicinal marijuana producers should be required to disclose information such as salaries, names and locations (although two of the five producers are now public knowledge.) we do have to applaud the Journal for recognizing that the availability of medicinal marijuana is a "worthy effort".

Originally signed into law by Governor Richardson in 2007, the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act has provided legal prescriptions for any 15 approved conditions which range from post traumatic stress disorder to AIDS to epilepsy.

The program currently has 755 patients, with 204 licensed to produce their own cannabis for personal use.

In an interview originally published by New Mexico Independent, Department of Health Secretary Alfredo Vigil stated that marijuana is a "medicine like any other medicine." This is a statement which is in contrast with marijuana's Schedule One drug status -- meaning that it is still illegal on a Federal level.

But while New Mexico's program has been criticized for being too slow to develop, Vigil defends the program as a trail-blazer. This claim is also echoed in an article published today on the Huffington Post.

Slow or not, New Mexico's medical marijuana program is providing a valuable service to citizens who have yet to benefit from other forms of treatment, and most importantly, Secretary Vigil's staff have the right motivation -- alleviating human suffering through superior patient care.