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A row between an outspoken New Mexico state senator and a secretary of state cabinet over ethics related to cannabis law has been resolved, at least temporarily.
According to a letter from Senate leadership last month, sent to New Mexico Department of Health Secretary Tracie Collins, there will be no legislative inquiry into Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, on his professional involvement in a major medical cannabis company.
In the letter, sent May 19, Senate Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, wrote that she, Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth of Santa Fe and Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca de Belen determined that there was no reason for interim legislative ethics. Commission to investigate the matter further.
I have called a meeting with Senators Wirth and Baca to review and deliberate on the allegations and other information contained in your complaint and in the dismissal and dismissal from state ethics commissions, Stewart wrote. After our thorough assessment, we determined that the complaint and information did not warrant further investigation by the Interim Legislative Ethics Committee, and therefore the complaint is dismissed.
Four days after this year’s regular session and six days before a special session, Collins filed an ethics complaint with the new State Ethics Commission, alleging that Candelaria had violated the Government’s Conduct Act. State by voting on a bill that would have limited the reciprocity of patients linked to medical cannabis. . Candelaria, who is also a lawyer, represented medical cannabis producer Ultra Health months before, challenging the DOH on the same issue.
In September 2020, the Medical Cannabis Program, which is overseen by the DOH, issued a guideline that medical cannabis reciprocity only applied to patients with permission from their respective home state to use cannabis. medical cannabis. The department was trying to close what it saw as a loophole in which Texas residents allegedly received referrals from doctors in California and then crossed state borders to purchase medical cannabis in New Mexico. In October 2020, Candelaria, on behalf of Ultra Health, successfully asked a state judge to overturn the department’s emergency rule change. The judge in that case ruled that it was not the rule change itself that made it invalid, but that the department did not provide adequate justification for skipping the normal rule promulgation process.
The department then proposed a new set of rules, but Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino also sponsored legislation during the regular session that would limit patient reciprocity in law, presumably at the request of the DOH. It was during the debate and subsequent vote on the Ortiz y Pinos Bill that Candelaria used the post of Senator to advance personal benefits or, failing that, pursue the private interests of her client, according to the complaint from Collins.
Candelaria told NM Political Report that there was no ongoing litigation when he voted against the bill to limit reciprocity, therefore it would not have impacted the case. .
There was absolutely no active litigation involving myself, the department, and the issue of reciprocity, Candelaria said. The matter was resolved at the time, and we were awaiting further promulgation of rules. So his claim was that I was using my position to try to influence an ongoing litigation. Well, there was absolutely no litigation going on.
According to court records, the judge ruled in favor of Ultra Health in October 2020, but the DOH appealed the decision and that appeal was still pending in the 2020 legislative session. But the DOH was simultaneously pushing for pressure. for a change of status while working to enact rules for the same problem.
The day before the special session where lawmakers successfully passed the Cannabis Regulation Act, which legalizes the purchase, use and possession of cannabis, the State Ethics Commission ruled the matter out of the question. its jurisdiction and referred the matter to the legislature. Interestingly, it was the Cannabis Regulation Act that ultimately included the same language limiting the reciprocity of medical cannabis that the DOH was pushing for.
DOH spokesman James Walton told NM Political Report that “Secretary Collins has no comment on this at this time.”
Candelaria said he was happy that the Senate leadership decided there was no problem to investigate, but that he still plans to follow through on his intention to prosecute state officials for what ‘he says to be libel.
I take my ethics very seriously and am delighted that management has accepted, said Candelaria. I do not take lightly, and do not appreciate in any way, form or form, such reckless and frivolous claims against my ethics. And so I’ll see Secretary Collins and the Governor in court. This will be the next step we take.
Representatives for Lujan Grisham have repeatedly denied allegations of retaliation by Candelarias and the DOH has said it is not commenting on pending litigation.
Candelaria said he was waiting for a decision somehow from Senate leadership, but now plans to file a complaint next month, under the relatively new law that established the Ethics Commission. .
This will be the first test case under the law, Candelaria said. So do I think this is a slam dunk? No.
But, said Candelaria, he thinks it’s important to let the courts decide whether someone has the right of private action and can seek some sort of remedy in these kinds of situations.
He readily admits that public accusations are the price to pay for being elected, but that he believes Collins and Lujan Grisham have crossed the line.
They really damaged the integrity of the process by sending a clear signal, Candelaria said. If it is enough for the CEO to manipulate the process in this way, what kind of message does that send to others?
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