2003

During the 2003 Legislature, the project lobbied for bills to allow seriously ill people to use medical marijuana and to treat, rather than incarcerate, first- and second-time non-violent drug offenders. The medical marijuana bill successfully passed out of three committees only to fail in the full House of Representatives. The treatment bill passed successfully through two Senate committees and then lost on the Senate floor. The bill was to have been reintroduced but the legislative clock ran out.

Download a summary of the 2003 bills.

2002

The following are the lesgislative successes of the NM 2002 Legislative Session:

• Civil asset forfeiture reform by protecting from forfeiture the assets of people accused of a crime until they are convicted (2002, SB 5 "Forfeiture Act")
• Giving a sentencing judge, not the prosecutor, discretion to enhance a person's sentence when appropriate (2002, HB 26 "Sentencing of Habitual Offenders")
• Waiving a federal ban on benefits such as food stamps for people who have completed their sentences (2002, HB 11 "Medicaid for Convicted Drug Offenders")

2001

The following are the legislative successes of the NM 2001 Legislative Session:

• Expanding state funding for drug treatment programs (2001, SB 628 "Substance Abuse Treatment Expansion")
• Deregulating the sale of syringes at pharmacies (2001, SB 320 "Permit Sale of Hypodermic Syringes")
• Overdose prevention by limiting liability for administering anti-opioids (2001, HB 813 "Administering Opioid Antagonists")
• Restoring voting rights for felons (2001, SB 204 "Restore Voting Rights")
• Establishing a program for the early release of women convicted of non-violent drug offenses (2001, SB 200 "Female Inmate Reentry Drug Court Program")