LAS CRUCES - The Las Cruces City Council voted to support a bill legalizing recreational marijuana statewide at its Monday meeting, with the vote falling along the stances the councilors and mayor established at a work session last month.

The resolution passed 6-1. Mayor Ken Miyagishima, who has said the marijuana legalization bill in the state legislature is the "most irresponsible" legislation he's seen in his more than two decades in politics, was the sole no vote.

"The money this generates, the additional problems it's going to generate, it's just not something I personally want to be supportive of," Miyagishima said.

The council's vote is merely a show of support; it does not mandate policy on the matter.

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The city council received a presentation at a Jan. 13 work session on the policy plan for legalization from Albuquerque City Councilor Pat Davis, chair of the governor's marijuana legalization work group.

The New Mexico bill would legalize cannabis for recreational use for those ages 21 and older. Some provisions of the bill would be requiring recreational dispensaries to also serve medical patients, automatic expungement of past cannabis convictions and allowing those with past cannabis convictions to hold jobs in the industry.

The bill wants to tax cannabis at under 20 percent and wants to establish a fund to fully subsidize medical marijuana for low-income patients. Medical marijuana would become tax-free.

The work group proposed a combination of several taxes, but the bill lays out a 9 percent state excise tax and city and county municipal taxes not to exceed 4 percent each. State and local gross receipts taxes would also apply.

In its first year, the work group forecasts the legal cannabis industry would add 11,000 jobs and do $318 million in sales, while bringing in about $55 million in state and local tax revenue.

A recent fiscal analysis showed the state could bring in $6.2 million in revenue in fiscal year 2021.

It wouldn't allow local governments to opt out of allowing dispensaries, as has been done in other states, in an attempt to curb black markets.

Opponents of the bill say marijuana legalization will increase addiction and use among youth. They also say the potential increase in impaired drivers is dangerous and police don't yet have the technology and training to combat drugged driving.

Council stances

Councilors weighed in at the January work session, at which no action could be taken.

Miyagishima said since then he's emailed a number of New Mexico state legislators expressing his opposition. He read a letter from the dais Monday he received from a constituent thanking the mayor for his opposition.

District 3 Councilor Gabriel Vasquez offered strong support for legalization, saying marijuana is "a substance that's less mind-altering than alcohol" but that possession of it has ruined a lot of lives unfairly.

"It's really our young people of color who are often and disproportionately targeted in New Mexico," Vasquez said, saying he sees his support as a social justice issue. "I think our society is evolving a little bit."

Vasquez and District 4 Councilor Johana Bencomo penned an op-ed appearing in the Albuquerque Journal and on KRWG this past weekend expressing strong support for legal cannabis.

Bencomo said she views the bill as a way to restore the dignity that's been taken from people of color in the United States for minor drug offenses.

"To me at the end of the day … this is a racial equity issue, which is why I'm supporting it thoroughly," Bencomo said.

More:Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima opposes marijuana legalization in New Mexico

District 5 Councilor Gill Sorg supported the resolution, saying it'll help regulate the potency and amount of THC — marijuana's psychoactive compound — in cannabis products.

The bill calls for the regulation of the potency and disbursement of THC in cannabis products.

Sorg also said he was impressed with the outcome of the governor's work group because it represented a diverse set of stakeholders.

District 6 Councilor Yvonne Flores supported the resolution because she said she wants to help people she believes were unfairly criminalized for nonviolent offenses.

"There are certain crimes that are so artificial and made to punish those who wouldn't have been punished otherwise," Flores said.

District 2 Councilor Tessa Abeyta Stuve voiced her support for the resolution by echoing Bencomo's point about racial equity, but said "should this move forward, I hope that we will be just as proactive as policymakers to make sure that we are funding appropriate entities to make sure we hopefully don't experience some of the challenges earlier states had."

Stuve also said she wants to prioritize public education about cannabis and training local law enforcement.

District 1 Councilor Kasandra Gandara said she's sought out more information from health officials since the work session and said she hasn't seen evidence legalization would significantly increase use among youth.

Gandara said she believes traumatic adverse experiences are why people develop debilitating drug and alcohol problems. She supports more research on marijuana.

"I want us to be very mindful about this," Gandara said. "If you really want to address homelessness and drug use and substance abuse, it's making sure that the funding we're going to be receiving … is being given to those systems that are going to address this."

The bill would use tax revenue from cannabis to fund public education and youth prevention programs, as well as to fund police training and technology to spot and deal with drugged drivers.

More:New Mexico might legalize marijuana. Here's what you need to know about the proposal.

Public voices

Members of the public who are proponents of the legalization bill addressed the council and said marijuana can often be an "exit drug" to help ween users of harder substances.

Chad Lozano from the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Patients Advocacy Alliance said he's a veteran and he uses medical cannabis.

"I feel like the veterans in the state can benefit heavily," Lozano said. "That's one thing that we focus on. I lost my sister to opioids. She was a veteran herself … I watched her deteriorate completely in front of my eyes because of the opioids. Cannabis has never done that to me."

Lozano was joined by Colt DeMorris and Kristin Jackson.

DeMorris said he used to be a regular methamphetamine user, and he's been clean for 10 years. He said marijuana helped him off that substance and advocated for its medicinal benefits.

"I turned to marijuana to help me stay off (meth)," DeMorris said. "It's not a gateway drug. For me it was an exit drug."

Jackson said for years she used alcohol and pain medications to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder she developed because she had been sexually assaulted. She said by using marijuana to help her quit hard drugs, she became a better mom and got her life back on track.

"That saved my life," Jackson said. "I'm a testament to it."

Michael McDevitt can be reached at 575-202-3205, mmcdevitt@lcsun-news.com or @MikeMcDTweets on Twitter.