Firefighters and unions back SB129 to permit off‑duty medical cannabis for safety‑sensitive employees; counties warn of safety risks

Senate Bill 129, presented as a committee substitute, would extend protections for qualified medical‑cannabis patients to certain public employees, including firefighters, permitting off‑duty use while preserving existing employer authority to prohibit on‑duty impairment.

Firefighter representatives and unions testified in support, saying medical cannabis helps with pain, sleep and PTSD and that workers do not seek to report to duty impaired. "This is about the private right to your own medical care when you are not on the clock," Carter Bundy of AFSCME said. Several firefighters described existing shift patterns (48‑hour shifts with multi‑day breaks) and said policies can be written to prevent impairment at work.

The New Mexico Association of Counties strongly opposed the bill in its current form. Mark Allen, general counsel, said safety‑sensitive positions require unimpaired cognitive function and cited National Safety Council guidance that no level of cannabis use is safe for those roles; he warned of employer liability if an impaired employee causes injury.

Committee members focused on how to detect current impairment, acceptable test types (saliva, blood versus urine), thresholds (discussed in testimony as examples such as 25 nanograms saliva/5 ng blood), and whether the state should leave such matters to local employers, collective bargaining and federal rules. Sponsors said the bill does not allow on‑duty impairment and said local policies and collective bargaining will define testing and thresholds; some counties already adopted local policies.

After debate the committee recorded a due‑pass motion moving the substitute forward and asked sponsors to provide additional implementation details on impairment testing and workplace policies.