New Mexico Register / Volume XXXII,
Issue 19 / October 13, 2021
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
The New Mexico Department of Health (“Department”)
will hold a public hearing on proposed amendments to 7.34.2.7 NMAC, 7.34.4.28
NMAC, and various sections of 7.34.3 NMAC.
The hearing will be held on November
12, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. via an Internet-based video conference (Cisco Webex), and via telephone, due to the ongoing public health
emergency concerning the threatening contagious disease COVID-19; in accordance
with Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Executive Order 2020-004 and subsequent
Executive Orders which declared a Public Health Emergency. Members of the public who wish to submit
public comment regarding the proposed rule changes will be able to do so via
video conference and via telephone during the course of the hearing, and by
submitting written comment before the conclusion of the hearing.
The purpose of the proposed rules is to specify
regulatory standards for the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program.
The proposed rule revisions include but are
not limited to the following:
1.
Amendments to definitions sections
at 7.34.2.7 and 7.34.3.7 NMAC. These
primarily include revisions based upon changes effectuated by the Cannabis
Regulation Act, NMSA 1978, Section 26-2C-1 et
seq., which transferred authority for the licensure and regulation of
commercial cannabis establishments to the Cannabis Control Division of the
Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD).
2.
Amendments to 7.34.3.9 NMAC,
consisting of an increase to the “adequate supply” limit, and the removal of
the “medical exception”. The amendments
to this section also include new text to explain the significance of the
“adequate supply” limit in light of changes in law resulting from enactment of the
Cannabis Regulation Act during the 2021 Special Legislative Session.
3.
Amendments to 7.34.3.11 NMAC. These include the replacement of a reference
to “producer” with the term “licensee”; and revisions to clarify that a
registry identification card expires three years after the date of its
issuance.
4.
Amendments to 7.34.3.13 NMAC,
consisting of the deletion of a sentence specific to transfer of cannabis to an
approved laboratory. This is proposed to
be removed due to the fact that the Cannabis Control Division now licenses
testing laboratories and will determine who may transfer cannabis to those
licensees.
5.
Amendments to 7.34.3.19 NMAC, to include
references to “reciprocal participants”, to include the ability to transfer
cannabis as described in the Cannabis Regulation Act at Paragraph (3) of
Subsection A of Section 26-2C-25 NMSA 1978, and to
make other revisions consistent with the recent transfer of the licensing
authority to the Cannabis Control Division.
6.
Addition of a new section 7.34.3.22
NMAC. This section primarily duplicates
the “Reciprocity” provisions contained at rule 7.34.4.28 NMAC, but is revised
to reflect the increase to the reciprocal limit (consistent with the increase
to the adequate supply limit). This new
section also includes revisions to explain the significance of the reciprocal
limit in light of changes in law resulting from enactment of the Cannabis
Regulation Act during the 2021 Special Legislative Session.
7.
Removal of the existing rule
section 7.34.4.28 NMAC. The proposed new
section 7.34.3.22 NMAC is proposed to be substituted for this existing
reciprocity section, in anticipation that all of 7.34.4 NMAC will ultimately be
repealed due to the transfer of responsibilities for the licensure of
commercial cannabis establishments to the Cannabis Control Division of RLD.
The legal authority for the proposed rule
amendments is at Subsection E of Section
9-7-6 NMSA 1978, and Subsections A, I, and J of Section 26-2B-7 NMSA 1978.
Free copies of the full text of the
proposed rule amendments can be obtained online from the New Mexico Department
of Health’s website at http://nmhealth.org/about/asd/cmo/rules/
or from Andrea Sundberg using the contact
information below.
The public hearing will be conducted to
receive public comment on the proposed rule amendments described above. Any interested member of the public may attend
the hearing and submit data, views, or arguments either orally or in writing on
the proposed rule amendments during the hearing. To access the hearing by telephone: please
call 1-844-992-4726, and enter the access code below. Your telephone comments will be recorded. To access the hearing via the Internet: please
go to http://www.webex.com; click the “Join” button; click the “Join a Meeting”
button; enter the following meeting number and password where indicated on the screen:
Meeting Number (Access Code): 2487 817 2396 #, Meeting Password: St5aKNmcx68 and
then click the “OK” button.
Written public comment regarding the
proposed rule amendments can be submitted by either mailing the comment to the
following address:
Andrea Sundberg
NM Department of Health
Medical Cannabis Program
P.O. Box 26110
Santa Fe, NM 87502-6110
Or e-mailing the comment to the e-mail
address MCP.comment@state.nm.us
Written comments must be
received by the close of the public rule hearing on November 12, 2021. All written comments will be published on the
agency website at http://nmhealth.org/about/asd/cmo/rules/ within 3 days of
receipt, and will be available at the New Mexico Department of Health Medical
Cannabis Program for public inspection.
If you are an individual with a disability
who is in need of special assistance or accommodations to attend or participate
in the hearing, please contact Andrea Sundberg by telephone at (505) 827-2318. The Department requests at least ten (10)
days advance notice to provide requested special accommodations.