I have seen quite a few people celebrating the passing of the bill that will legalize marijuana use in New Mexico. It puzzles me that they are celebrating this when there was so much wrong about the way it was passed as well as some of the things in the bill. Once again it is probably their ignorance or their belief that the ends justify the means. As usual the bill does not necessarily resemble what we were being told it will do.

Let me say this, before I get into some of the problems I have, I do believe that marijuana and its components have significant benefit for people needing to treat various conditions, illnesses , and disease. I have benefited personally from some of the creams that can help reduce pain especially in the knees. I have family members that have benefited from the use of marijuana to treat specific conditions.

The passage of the bill was akin in many ways to the passage of Obamacare; we must pass it in order to find out what was in it. If any politician tells you that you can't see everything in the bill or that you wouldn't understand everything in the bill , that is a big red flag that there is something in the bill that they're trying to hide from you because they know you won't like it. Why any of you would accept passing legislation, even from a politician that you supported, without transparency, is beyond me.

Many of you who supported this bill are also ones that rail against drunk driving and want stricter regulations on the sale of alcohol or stiffer punishments for those who do drink and drive. We now have enough empirical data to show that driving while under the influence of marijuana is just as dangerous. Yet there is really nothing in this bill that I have seen that would address that issue. Certainly the current laws for driving under the influence or while intoxicated or impaired can address that but why was that not part of this discussion? If we have educational campaigns to inform people about the dangers of drinking and driving why don't we have one for driving while under the influence of marijuana?

Of course one of the main reasons for passing this will be the generation of tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue. The experiences of places like Colorado will tell us that that is not accurate. There will be a surge in people opening up businesses to meet with the demand but many of them will fail. And in no state that has legalized the use of marijuana did their revenue projections come even close to their expectations.

There are also additional costs that society and government will incur because of the increased use of marijuana. How will employers deal with people who come to work while high? Increased absenteeism and decreased production have been problems in other states. Employees that show up to work under the influence create safety risks for themselves and fellow employees. There are some studies that show workers' compensation claims are increased and the cost of workers compensation insurance to the employer is also increased.

One question I have asked several times over the years as we have seen an increase in the use of marijuana especially for medical purposes is why don't they use a liquid form of the beneficial ingredients rather than smoke? Taking in unfiltered smoke from tobacco or marijuana has the same effect upon the lungs. It's not good and increases medical cost to people that use it because of the resulting lung disease.

Where I'm going with this is that people need to be more informed in order to make better decisions. Once again, we must demand that our politicians have complete transparency in their actions. We must expect that they addressed the issues that will be common enough if the bill passes that they should be addressed before the bill is passed. And as a consumer please take the time to inform yourself so that you can avoid some of the pitfalls or negative consequences of any behavior.