Could New Mexico soon become the 12th state in the U.S. to legalize recreational cannabis?
That outcome grew more likely on Tuesday, when the Cannabis Regulation Act, which would sanction this type of use and sale, won a narrow victory in state Senate's Public Affairs Committee. The 4-3 vote was strictly along party lines, with the quartet of Democratic members carrying the day.
The bill still has a fair distance to go; it will have to be passed by two more state Senate committees (judiciary and finance) before the full legislative body takes it up for a vote. Although the New Mexico Senate is overwhelmingly Democratic with 26 members out of a total of 42, several prominent senators from that party have indicated that they are resistant to legalizing marijuana for recreational use.