Doa Ana sheriff holds 1st of several public meetings on pot legalization

Doa Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart kicked off a series of public meetings Monday to get input from county residents on proposals to legalize marijuana in New Mexico.

“It’s a beast,” she admitted. “This is just fraught with details.”

The sheriff is among a 20-member study group named by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham that will offer recommendations on pot legalization.

“It is a gateway drug,” said Dave Gallus, who told the group he’s a retired Philadelphia Police Officer. “My son started with marijuana and went on to heroin, cocaine. It’s only by the grace of God that he’s alive today.”

“Cannabis saved my life,” said Chad Lozano, the secretary for the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Patients Advocate Alliance. “I want it to save other people’s lives, including other veterans.”

The governor has said she expects those recommendations to be part of legislation that will be introduced during the state’s next legislative session.

“I like the fact that these people brought personal experiences to this process,” Stewart told ABC-7.

Gallus told the group he had a bad marijuana experience after smoking marijuana for the first time in Jamaica.

“They lit one up, they’re passing it around,” Gallus said. “I’m doing the same thing they were… Then I couldn’t talk.”

“You smoke with a bunch of Jamaicans?” Lozano asked. “That sounds awesome.”

“Not worth it,” Gallus replied. “I was totally dehydrated. I thought I was going to die.”

“You shouldn’t tell me that I shouldn’t smoke cannabis because you had a bad experience,” said Lozano, who told ABC-7 he served in the Iraqi Freedom War in 2009 with the 25th infantry division.

Monday’s public meeting took place at the Organ Community Resource Center, lasting about an hour. Stewart stayed neutral on the topic, posing questions to the group and taking notes on the passionate dialogue.

“They did definitely disagree at some points, but you notice at the end, there really was consensus about certain topics,” Stewart told ABC-7.

Here are the dates, times and locations for additional public meetings the sheriff will hold in the coming weeks:

Wednesday, July 31 at 6 p.m. — Anthony Water District — 1155 N. 4th St., Anthony Thursday, August 1 at 12:30 p.m. — Delores Wright CRC — 400 E. Lisa Drive Monday, August 5 at 1:30 p.m. — Hatch Community Center — 837 Highway 187 Tuesday, August 6 at 11:30 a.m. — Radium Springs CRC — 12060 Lindbeck Road Wednesday, August 7 at 10 a.m. — Sugies Diner — 340 N. Main St., Las Cruces Monday, August 12 at 9 a.m. — Butterfield CRC — 9350 Berry Patch Lane Thursday, August 15 at 6:15 p.m. — La Mesa Community Center — 744 San Jose, La Mesa Tuesday, August 20 at 6:30 p.m. — Our Lord of Mercy Church — 117 Hartman St., Hatch Monday, August 26 at 6:30 p.m. — Betty McKnight Community Center — 190 S. County Line Dr., Chaparral Thursday, August 29 at 6:30 p.m. — Doa Ana County Government Building (BOCC Chambers) — 845 N. Motel Blvd.