89.9 FM Live From The University Of New Mexico
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Bernalillo County To Add Mental Health, Marijuana Ballot Questions

Capt Piper via Flicker

Bernalillo County Commissioners voted 3-2 today to include two questions on the November ballot. One will ask whether voters support decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana. The other will ask whether voters support a tax increase to fund mental health services. The non-binding measures passed on a party line vote.

Commissioners voting in support of including the mental health question on the ballot said a current lack of behavioral health services in New Mexico is a growing problem for the state.

Democratic Chair Debbie O’Malley said raising the gross receipts tax one-eighth of a percent to 7.125 percent would fund a regional behavioral health crisis center to serve patients who are otherwise taken to jail for treatment.

“This, I believe, is a crisis," O'Malley said. "It’s very difficult for people to have hope that things will improve, that their children will have opportunity here. It also has a very negative impact on our local economy."

Both the marijuana decriminalization question and the mental health services question are non-binding, so even if voters approve them there won’t be any change in the law.

Still, Commissioner O’Malley said the measures are important in order to gauge public opinion. If one or both measures pass, Bernalillo Commissioners say they will then work towards changing the laws.

Ed Williams came to KUNM in 2014 by way of Carbondale, Colorado, where he worked as a public radio reporter covering environmental issues. Originally from Austin, Texas, Ed has reported on environmental, social justice, immigration and Native American issues in the U.S. and Latin America for the Austin American-Statesman, Z Magazine, NPR’s Latino USA and others. In his spare time, look for Ed riding his mountain bike in the Sandias or sparring on the jiu-jitsu mat.
Related Content