2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 26 - Drugs and Cosmetics › Article 2B - Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act › Section 26-2B-3 - Definitions.

As used in the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act:
A. "adequate supply" means an amount of cannabis, in any form approved by the department, possessed by a qualified patient or collectively possessed by a qualified patient and the qualified patient's primary caregiver that is determined by rule of the department to be no more than reasonably necessary to ensure the uninterrupted availability of cannabis for a period of three months and that is derived solely from an intrastate source;
B. "cannabis":
(1) means all parts of the plant Cannabis containing a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of more than three-tenths percent on a dry weight basis, whether growing or not; the seeds of the plant; the resin extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of the plant, its seeds or its resin; and
(2) does not include the mature stalks of the plant; fiber produced from the stalks; oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant; any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of the mature stalks, fiber, oil or cake; the sterilized seed of the plant that is incapable of germination; the weight of any other ingredient combined with cannabis to prepare topical or oral administrations, food, drink or another product; or hemp;
C. "cannabis extract":
(1) means a product obtained by separating resins from cannabis by solvent extraction using solvents other than vegetable glycerin, such as butane, hexane, isopropyl alcohol, ethanol or carbon dioxide; and
(2) does not include the weight of any other ingredient combined with cannabis extract to prepare topical or oral administrations, food, drink or another product;
D. "cannabis flowers" means only the flowers of a cannabis plant;
E. "cannabis product":
(1) means a product that contains cannabis, including edible or topical products that may also contain other ingredients; and
(2) does not include the weight of any other ingredient combined with cannabis or cannabis extract to prepare topical or oral administrations, food, drink or another product;
F. "debilitating medical condition" means:
(1) cancer;
(2) glaucoma;
(3) multiple sclerosis;
(4) damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord, with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity;
(5) seizure disorder, including epilepsy;
(6) positive status for human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome;
(7) admitted into hospice care in accordance with rules promulgated by the department;
(8) amyotrophic lateral sclerosis;
(9) Crohn's disease;
(10) hepatitis C infection;
(11) Huntington's disease;
(12) inclusion body myositis;
(13) inflammatory autoimmune-mediated arthritis;
(14) intractable nausea or vomiting;
(15) obstructive sleep apnea;
(16) painful peripheral neuropathy;
(17) Parkinson's disease;
(18) posttraumatic stress disorder;
(19) severe chronic pain;
(20) severe anorexia or cachexia;
(21) spasmodic torticollis;
(22) ulcerative colitis; or
(23) any other medical condition, medical treatment or disease as approved by the department;
G. "department" means the department of health;
H. "division" means the cannabis control division of the regulation and licensing department;
I. "dry weight basis" means a process by which delta—9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration is measured relative to the aggregate weight of all parts of the plant genus Cannabis, whether growing or not, including the leaves of the plant, the flowers and buds of the plant, the seeds of the plant, the resin of the plant and the stalks of the plant, at the point of harvest and with no moisture added to the harvested plant;
J. "hemp" means the plant genus Cannabis and any part of the plant, whether growing or not, containing a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of no more than three-tenths percent on a dry weight basis;
K. "medical cannabis program" means the program established pursuant to the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act for authorization and regulation of the medical use of cannabis in the state;
L. "practitioner" means a person licensed in New Mexico to prescribe and administer drugs that are subject to the Controlled Substances Act [Chapter 30, Article 31 NMSA 1978];
M. "primary caregiver" means a resident of New Mexico who is at least eighteen years of age and who has been designated by the patient's practitioner as being necessary to take responsibility for managing the well-being of a qualified patient with respect to the medical use of cannabis pursuant to the provisions of the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act;
N. "qualified patient" means a resident of New Mexico who has been diagnosed by a practitioner as having a debilitating medical condition and has received written certification and a registry identification card pursuant to the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act on the basis of having been diagnosed, in person or via telemedicine, by a practitioner as having a debilitating medical condition;
O. "reciprocal participant" means a person who is not a resident of New Mexico and who holds proof of enrollment by a governmental regulatory authority to participate in the medical cannabis program of another state of the United States, the District of Columbia or a territory or commonwealth of the United States in which the person resides or a person who holds proof of enrollment by a governmental regulatory authority of a New Mexico Indian nation, tribe or pueblo to participate in its medical cannabis program;
P. "registry identification card" means a document that the department issues:
(1) to a qualified patient that identifies the bearer as a qualified patient and authorizes the qualified patient to use cannabis for a debilitating medical condition; or
(2) to a primary caregiver that identifies the bearer as a primary caregiver authorized to engage in the intrastate possession and administration of cannabis for the sole use of a qualified patient who is identified on the document;
Q. "safety-sensitive position" means a position in which performance by a person under the influence of drugs or alcohol would constitute an immediate or direct threat of injury or death to that person or another;
R. "telemedicine" means the use of telecommunications and information technology to provide clinical health care from a site apart from the site where the patient is located, in real time or asynchronously, including the use of interactive simultaneous audio and video or store-and-forward technology, or off-site patient monitoring and telecommunications in order to deliver health care services;
S. "THC" means delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, a substance that is the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis; and
T. "written certification" means a statement made on a department-approved form and signed by a patient's practitioner that indicates, in the practitioner's professional opinion, that the patient has a debilitating medical condition and the practitioner believes that the potential health benefits of the medical use of cannabis would likely outweigh the health risks for the patient.
History:
Laws 2007, ch. 210, § 3; 2019, ch. 247, § 3; 2020, ch. 4, § 1; 2021 (1st S.S.), ch. 4, § 58.
ANNOTATIONS
The 2021
(1st S.S.)
amendment,
effective June 29, 2021, defined "cannabis extract", "cannabis flowers", "division", and "dry weight basis", revised the definitions of "qualified patient" and "reciprocal participant", and removed the definitions of "cannabis consumption area", "cannabis courier", "cannabis establishment", "cannabis manufacturer", "cannabis producer", "cannabis testing facility", "license", "licensee", "licensee representative", "manufacture", "personal production license" and "produce", as used in the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act; deleted former Subsections C through G; added new Subsections C and D and redesignated former Subsection H as Subsection E; deleted former Subsection I and redesignated former Subsections J and K as Subsections F and G, respectively; added new Subsections H and I and redesignated former Subsection L as Subsection J; deleted former Subsections M through P and redesignated former Subsection Q as Subsection K; deleted former Subsection R and redesignated former Subsections S and T as Subsections L and M, respectively; deleted former Subsection U and redesignated former Subsections V through BB as Subsections N through T, respectively; in Subsection N, after "debilitating medical condition", deleted "provided that a practitioner may only issue a written certification on the basis of an evaluation conducted via telemedicine if the practitioner has previously examined the patient in person"; and in Subsection O, after "means", deleted "an individual who holds proof of authorization to participate in the medical cannabis program of another state of the United States, the District of Columbia, a territory or commonwealth of the United States or a New Mexico Indian nation, tribe or pueblo" and added the remainder of the subsection.
The 2020 amendment,
effective February 20, 2020, limited the definition of "qualified patient," as used in the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act, to residents of New Mexico; and in Subsection V, after "means a", deleted "person" and added "resident of New Mexico".
The 2019 amendment,
effective June 14, 2019, defined certain terms related to medical cannabis and medical cannabis programs as used in the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act; added new Subsections B through I and redesignated former Subsections B and C as Subsections J and K, respectively; in Subsection J, in Paragraph J(5), after the paragraph designation, added "seizure disorder, including", added new Paragraphs J(8) through J(22) and redesignated former Paragraph J(8) as Paragraph J(23); deleted Subsection D, which defined "licensed producer"; added new Subsections L through R and redesignated former Subsections E and F as Subsections S and T, respectively; added new Subsection U and redesignated former Subsection G as Subsection V; in Subsection V, after "means a", deleted "resident of New Mexico" and added "person", and after "Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act", deleted "and" and added "on the basis of having been diagnosed, in person or via telemedicine, by a practitioner as having a debilitating medical condition; provided that a practitioner may only issue a written certification on the basis of an evaluation conducted via telemedicine if the practitioner has previously examined the patient in person"; added new Subsections W through AA and redesignated former Subsection H as Subsection BB; and in Subsection BB, after "means a statement", deleted "in a patient's medical records or a statement" and added "made on a department-approved form and", and after "health risks for the patient", deleted "A written certification is not valid for more than one year from the date of issuance".
Temporary provisions.
— Laws 2019, ch. 247, § 15 provided that a licensed producer, as defined in the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act prior to the enactment of Laws 2019, ch. 247 shall be considered to be a cannabis producer, as defined by Laws 2019, ch. 247.
Written certification is the functional equivalent of a prescription.
— Under the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act, the written certification required by a person licensed in New Mexico to prescribe and administer controlled substances is the functional equivalent of a prescription as defined in the Worker's Compensation Act, 52-1-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.
Maez v. Riley Industrial
, 2015-NMCA-049.