A cannabis legalization bill passed its first committee Tuesday.

The Senate Public Affairs voted 4-3 along party lines to pass SB 115 after hours of public comment and debate between lawmakers.

Even though a number of people spoke against legalization, they were largely outnumbered by those in favor of it.

For the most part, those who spoke out in opposition said they were concerned about safety and health issues like driving while impaired and addiction.

[...] Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, took the lead on selling the bill to the committee