Three out of five New Mexico residents support the legalization and taxation of recreational marijuana, according to poll results released Thursday.

The survey by Albuquerque-based Research & Polling Inc. found that 61 percent of residents would back legislation to legalize pot sales among adults 21 and over, while 28 percent were opposed.

“We just said straight up, ‘Do you support or oppose a bill that would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana sales for adult use in New Mexico?'” said pollster Brian Sanderoff, president of Research & Polling.

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson has left his role as the head of a marijuana company and will run for president as a libertarian.

Johnson announced his campaign Wednesday on the Fox Business Network.

"I want to take this opportunity to announce my candidacy for president," Johnson said. "I am hoping to get the Libertarian nomination for president in 2016 and in fact offer that alternative."

"I think the biggest problem facing this country is the $20 trillion debt that we will have when Obama leaves office," he said. "Government is too big, it’s unwieldy, it’s out of control, we need to get control."

New Mexico will move one step closer to legalizing marijuana in the new year. A state representative has pre-filed a bill that would legalize marijuana and hemp in the state, Albuquerque’s KOB TV reported Tuesday, and he plans to introduce the bill during the Legislature’s next session in January.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Bill McCamley, would allow people age 21 and older to purchase and use pot legally. It would also legalize the production and sale of industrial hemp in New Mexico. Under the proposed legislation, the state would be permitted to regulate marijuana growers and distributors.

LAS CRUCES - A Deming man is suing the U.S. Border Patrol, alleging agents are failing to adhere to a new rule that allow him to carry medical marijuana without risking federal charges.

Raymundo Marrufo, who participates in New Mexico's medical marijuana program, filed the lawsuit Monday in federal court seeking an injunction against the U.S. Border Patrol in connection with questions the agency poses to travelers at border checkpoints.

The Border Patrol forces a medical marijuana patient to break a law every time he passes a checkpoint, the man claims in Federal Court.

The only choice he has, Raymundo Marrufo says, is whether to violate a state law or a federal one.

Marrufo suffers from PTSD and has been prescribed medical marijuana under the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act, New Mexico's medical marijuana program. To get his medicine, Marrufo must drive past a permanent Border Patrol checkpoint. There, a Border Patrolman asks him: "Do you have any illegal drugs?"

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —The New Mexico medical cannabis advisory board will meet Friday in Santa Fe to consider adding ADHD to list of aliments approved for medical marijuana use.

Medical marijuana is approved to treat several diseases in New Mexico. The advisory board meets only twice a year.

People with ADHD, a brain disease, lack the receptors that give them the ability to concentrate. Without those receptors, they struggle to focus.

KOAT medical expert Dr. Barry Ramo said he can see why some might think medical marijuana could help, but the solution might not be that simple.

MASON CITY | An advocacy organization presented its case Wednesday night for what it says are potential benefits for legalization of medical cannabis.

Dr. Steven Jenison, the former head of the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program, spoke to about 25 people at the Mason City Public Library on Wednesday evening.

Iowans 4 Medical Cannabis organized the forum, one of three it is holding around the state this week.

Some who attended spoke of a years-long struggle to help their children through painful and chronic medical problems with what they considered potentially harmful medications.

"We have seen her suffer and suffer," said Jacqueline Loats, 46, who spoke of her now college-age daughter who has battled Crohn's disease since childhood.

Health officials have selected 12 applicants to become licensed nonprofit producers for New Mexico’s medical cannabis program, subject to site visits showing they comply with state regulations.

If all 12 receive licenses, it would increase the total number of licensed medical pot producers to 35, the New Mexico Department of Health said Monday.

No licensed producers have been added to current list of 23 since 2010.

The agency did not identify the 12 selected applicants, despite a directive announced in July by Gov. Susana Martinez that the names of medical marijuana producers and their employees be made public.

Health department officials said the directive requires regulatory changes now in the works.

Alaska

Qualifying conditions to become a medical marijuana patient in Alaska include:

• Cancer
• Glaucoma
• HIV/AIDS
• Cachexia (wasting syndrome)
• Nausea
• Muscle spasms
• Multiple sclerosis
• Pain
• Seizures

For a complete list of qualifying conditions and guidelines, please refer to Alaska’s application for medical marijuana registry

Arizona

Qualifying conditions to become a medical marijuana patient in Arizona include: