Mercy & Marijuana in New Mexico

In an unforeseen move, Gov. Bill Richardson on Wednesday night said he will include a medical-marijuana bill on his agenda this legislative session.

The governor’s decision surprised drug-law-reform advocates, who had been disheartened by Richardson’s statement earlier this week that there wouldn’t be enough time in an already packed 30-day session to take on the measure.

House Speaker Ben Luján , DNambé , said before the session started that he had asked Richardson not to include medical marijuana on his call, saying there wasn’t enough time.

But on Wednesday night, Richardson said in a news release, “After speaking with many seriously ill New Mexicans, I have decided to include this bill on my call. This issue is too important, and there are too many New Mexicans suffering to delay this issue any further.”

“We’re so thrilled and so grateful,” said Reena Szczepanski, director of the state chapter of The Drug Policy Alliance, a national advocacy group that has been pushing the proposed bill.

“We’re proud to have a governor who will stand up for compassion. We know it was a hard decision,” she said.

Five minutes before reading this article, I was on the phone making an appointment with my physician and attempting to refill my prescription for butorphanol tartrate, one of the only narcotics that helps relieve my headaches. (I'm damn lucky to have a compassionate, capable doctor willing to treat me for pain. They're almost impossible to find.)

High grade herb is a preferable alternative to generic Stadol (no unpleasant side effects besides dry mouth), but in addition to being illegal, it's also completely unaffordable. If state law permitted me to grow my own, cost wouldn't be a problem. But that won't be happening anytime soon in Texas. Compassion is damn short supply here.


It's probably been ten years since an acquaintance gave me a single dose of stropharia cubensis mushrooms to treat a stubborn headache that had tortured me for a couple of weeks. The speed with which it subsided was remarkable, as was the fact that my relief lasted for several weeks afterward. In case you were thinking of doing something similar the next time you feel like fucking dying, be aware the side effects can be extremely problematic: Self-discovery and laughing a lot. And we can't have that.