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The process for becoming a medical marijuana patient in New Mexico may be getting a lot simpler. Senate Bill 242 has made its way up to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham&rsquo;s desk, where she is expected to sign it into law. Senate Bill 242 is a bill that would align the time for patients to do their medical cannabis recertification and re-enrollment.
<h2 id="0">Senate Bill 242</h2>
Senate Bill 242 was originally sponsored by Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino. This bill would make it much easier for medical marijuana patients to stay enrolled in the State's medical cannabis system, as it would align the medical provider certification and the patient&rsquo;s application for enrollment to every two years.
Currently, patients must get an annual certification and do a re-enrollment every three years. A 2022 Medical Cannabis Program survey found that this process has been confusing for both patients and medical providers. If she does sign it, it would go into effect on June 16, 2023. 
If the proposed changes are enacted, medical cannabis patients in New Mexico could potentially save over $11 million annually in application costs.&nbsp; &ldquo;This change saves patients time and money spent obtaining their annual recertification signatures and application from their medical provider,&rdquo; said Dominick V. Zurlo, Ph.D., Director for the Medical Cannabis Program, in a <a title="press release" href="https://www.nmhealth.org/news/celebrate/2023/3/?view=1941" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. &ldquo;It eliminates the confusion caused by the current process which has different timeframes for annual medical certifications and Medical Cannabis Patient ID Card renewals. This bill allows the two processes to happen at the same time.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Medical cannabis patients in New Mexico have confirmed that the current renewal and certification process is confusing, so hopefully this bill could pass to make things a bit easier.
SB 242 would reduce confusion and disruptions for patients and providers, while simultaneously saving medical cannabis patients over $11,000,000 per year in application fees.&nbsp;