April 2, 2007-New Mexico becomes the 12th state to end the cruel policy of criminalizing the seriously ill.

Gov. Bill Richardson is the first governor in history to enact a medical marijuana law while running for the presidency. And the bill he signed is the only one of the 12 state-level medical marijuana laws to require the state government to authorize the distribution of medical marijuana to qualifying patients.

"It's a humane piece of legislation. It does not mean I support legalizing marijuana," Richardson said in the New Mexico press. "It means that we are alleviating suffering ... and I must tell you, I was overcome by the personal stories of pain and the personal appeals I got."

New Mexico joins Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Vermont as only the fourth state to enact its medical marijuana law via the legislative process. The other eight states that have enacted similar laws-Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington-have all done so via ballot initiatives.