New Mexico does not have a separate "carrying under the influence" statute inside the Concealed Handgun Carry Act. The controlling criminal prohibition...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
New Mexico does not have a separate "carrying under the influence" statute inside the Concealed Handgun Carry Act. The controlling criminal prohibition is the general negligent-use statute. NMSA 1978 Section 30-7-4 ("Negligent use of a deadly weapon") makes it a crime to carry "a firearm while under the influence of an intoxicant or narcotic." This applies to any person, whether they carry openly or concealed and whether or not they hold a concealed handgun license (CHL).
For CHL holders, a second statute connects this prohibition to the license. NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-8 provides that nothing in the Concealed Handgun Carry Act allows a licensee to carry a concealed handgun where doing so "would be in violation of state or federal law." Carrying while under the influence violates Section 30-7-4, so a CHL holder who carries while under the influence is both committing the Section 30-7-4 offense and acting outside the protection of the license.
There is no New Mexico statute that bars a CHL holder from merely consuming a single drink while carrying. The offense under Section 30-7-4 turns on being "under the influence," not on the act of consumption by itself. Any claim that one sip while carrying is automatically a crime overstates the statute.
Section 30-7-4(A) defines "negligent use of a deadly weapon" to include four separate acts. The one that matters here is subsection A(2): "carrying a firearm while under the influence of an intoxicant or narcotic."
Key points confirmed in the statute and the case law annotations:
Because Section 30-7-4 applies to "carrying a firearm" by any person, it covers:
This is broader than the CHL rules, which only govern licensed concealed carry. Open carry of a loaded firearm is generally legal in New Mexico for a person who may lawfully possess a firearm, but that does not authorize carrying while under the influence. Section 30-7-4 still applies.
New Mexico has not codified a specific blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) threshold for the purpose of carrying a firearm under the influence. Section 30-7-4 uses the phrase "under the influence of an intoxicant or narcotic" without a numeric cutoff. In practice, this is the general impairment standard: the alcohol, intoxicant, or narcotic has affected the person to the point that they are under its influence. Whether a person is "under the influence" is a fact question for the jury.
A separate statute, NMSA 1978 Section 30-7-3 ("Unlawful carrying of a firearm in licensed liquor establishments"), prohibits carrying a loaded or unloaded firearm on any premises licensed by the state regulation and licensing department for the dispensing of alcoholic beverages. This is a fourth degree felony under Section 30-7-3(B). It is a serious felony charge, not a misdemeanor.
Section 30-7-3 is a strict-liability offense as to whether the location is a licensed liquor establishment. State v. Torres, 2003-NMCA-101, held that a defendant could not raise a mistake-of-fact defense about the nature of the establishment.
The statute lists several exceptions in Section 30-7-3(A). The exception that matters most for CHL holders is paragraph A(4), which allows a person carrying a concealed handgun who holds a valid CHL for that gun to carry on the premises of:
So a CHL holder may carry concealed into a qualifying beer-and-wine restaurant that meets the 60 percent food-receipts test, unless it is posted or the person is told otherwise. A CHL holder may not rely on the license to carry into a bar or other establishment that sells liquor for on-premises consumption. The exception in A(4) is limited to the two categories above.
Note that Section 30-7-3 turns on the type of premises, not on whether the carrier has consumed any alcohol. Carrying a firearm into a covered liquor establishment is the felony, even if the person is completely sober. If the person also carries while under the influence, Section 30-7-4 may apply on top of Section 30-7-3.
Stores that sell alcohol only for off-premises consumption (for example, a grocery store or convenience store that sells beer and wine to take home) fall within the Section 30-7-3(A)(4)(a) exception for a CHL holder: a "licensed establishment that does not sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises." A CHL holder may carry concealed in such a store. The under-the-influence prohibition in Section 30-7-4 still applies separately.
New Mexico has legalized cannabis for adult recreational use under state law (the Cannabis Regulation Act, effective in 2021). However, marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law (the federal Controlled Substances Act). Two consequences follow for firearms:
Separately, the Concealed Handgun Carry Act ties eligibility to substance use. NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-4(A)(9) requires that a CHL applicant not be "addicted to alcohol or controlled substances," and Section 29-19-4(A)(7) requires that the applicant not be otherwise prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm. A person who is an unlawful user of marijuana under federal law can be disqualified on that basis.
CHL applicants and holders who use marijuana, whether recreationally or for a state-authorized medical purpose, face real legal exposure under federal law and under the state under-the-influence rule.
A person who is lawfully prescribed a controlled substance is not, by virtue of the prescription alone, a federally prohibited person under 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(3). The federal bar applies to an "unlawful user," not to a person taking medication as lawfully prescribed.
The state under-the-influence rule is different. If a lawfully prescribed medication is an intoxicant or narcotic and the person is actually under its influence while carrying a firearm, Section 30-7-4(A)(2) can still apply. The trigger is being under the influence, not the existence or absence of a prescription. A person who is impaired by a sedating prescription should not carry a firearm while it is taking effect.
The Concealed Handgun Carry Act sets eligibility and disqualification standards tied to alcohol and drugs:
Grounds for suspension and revocation of a CHL are set by department rule. NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-12(A) directs the department to adopt rules establishing "grounds for the suspension and revocation of concealed handgun licenses." A license is valid for four years "unless the license is suspended or revoked" (Section 29-19-3). A conviction for carrying under the influence, or conduct showing addiction to alcohol or a controlled substance, can support administrative action against the license under those rules.
A felony conviction under Section 30-7-3 makes a person a prohibited person under both federal law (18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(1)) and state law for future firearm possession, and ends CHL eligibility.
This page covers one part of our New Mexico concealed carry guide.
Read the complete New Mexico guideBrowse local instructors offering state-approved training in your area. Book online, complete your training, and get one step closer to your concealed carry permit.