Lawmakers in many states have started pre-filing marijuana law reform legislation and some sessions have already begun holding hearings. This week’s update highlights legislative developments in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
LEGALIZATION
KANSAS
House Bill 2367 creates a regulatory framework for an adult-use cannabis market. If passed, adults over the age of 21 will be able to purchase up to one ounce of cannabis, including cannabis concentrates at state-licensed retailers.
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LOUISIANA
House Bill 17 establishes regulations and oversight for the cultivation, production, and distribution of cannabis for those 21 and up. It allows for the sale of up to one ounce of cannabis or cannabis products to any individual per calendar day.
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MARYLAND
Update: HB 556 is scheduled for a hearing in the House Economic Matters on 2/17/23. SB 516 is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Finance on 3/9/23.
House Bill 556 and Senate Bill 516 regulate cannabis sales for adults 21 and older by allowing select cannabis businesses to serve both medical patients and adults. The bills create an avenue for on-sight consumption licenses where consumers over 21 can purchase and consume cannabis in a social setting. Additionally, the legislation institutes certain parental and personal protections for medical and adult-use consumers.
The bills also increase the amount of cannabis that registered medical patients may possess. The new proposed limits are; up to 4 ounces of flowers, 36 grams of THC-infused products, and up to four plants for home cultivation.
Under state law, patients are not currently allowed to cultivate plants in their homes.
Send a message in support of this effort.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
UPDATE: HB 360 and HB 344 are scheduled for a hearing in the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Executive Session on 2/17/23 and 2/24/23, respectively. Submit your support for this legislation here.
HB 639 legalizes the home cultivation of cannabis for one’s personal use. It also authorizes a new, stand-alone Cannabis Commission to regulate production and sales, with oversight from an independent advisory board. Sales to adults would be subjected to the 8.5% Meals and Rooms Tax.
HB 344 legalizes cannabis possession by adults. Under the plan, those age 21 or older may possess up to 3/4 of an ounce of cannabis, 5 grams of hashish, and certain cannabis-infused products. It also legalizes home cultivation.
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TEXAS
SB 209 regulates the cultivation, manufacture, processing, distribution, sale, testing, transportation, delivery, transfer, possession, and use of cannabis and cannabis products. Those 21 and up could possess up to 2.5 oz of cannabis flower or 15 g of cannabis concentrates. It also allows the home cultivation of up to 12 plants. It creates parental protections for legal cannabis consumers.
House Bill 1831 legalizes the cultivation, possession, use, and sale of up to 2.5 oz of marijuana, with no more than 15 grams of that amount being in the form of cannabis concentrate. Adults can cultivate up to 12 plants in a private residence if the plant is enclosed within a locked facility and it is not visible from a public place. The legislation allows for the expungement of any previous offense that would now be legal. A 10% tax will be implemented on cannabis sales and distributed to further cannabis research and regulation offices.
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VIRGINIA
SB1133 regulates the retail sale of cannabis to adults 21. It has passed the Senate with bipartisan support but awaits action in the House.
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MEDICAL ACCESS
ARIZONA
Senate Bill 1494 provides health coverage for medical marijuana patients so that qualified patients can have certain costs reimbursed. Under current state law, medical marijuana is not regulated through insurance companies and it is not covered under insurance plans.
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COLORADO
Update: SB 81 is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health & Human Services Committee on 2/16/23.
Senate Bill 81 seeks to reverse unduly restrictive provisions that were enacted into law as a result of the passage of HB 1317 in 2021. If passed, the bill would remove numerous undue requirements that have been recently placed upon physicians who issue medical cannabis recommendations.
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GEORGIA
House Bill 337 strikes the five percent THC cap on medical cannabis products, while also opening up the program to those with other eligible medical conditions. Under current state law, low-THC oil is available for a limited list of conditions, but no there are no active dispensaries in the state.
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KANSAS
Senate Bill 135 allows medical cannabis to be cultivated, distributed, sold and used by patients with a medical registration identification card. The bill sets a limit of 3 ounces of cannabis flower for a 30-day supply limit for registered medical cannabis users. Under SB 135, patients without a medical card will be subjected to a $400 fine if they can provide evidence that their physician recommended the use of medical marijuana for a listed qualifying condition.
Senate Bill 171 allows for the cultivation, distribution, sale, possession, and use of medical cannabis for patients who have a qualifying condition, with the primary goal of addressing the needs of veterans who could be helped in treating their various afflictions with the use of cannabis.
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MARYLAND
Senate Bill 587 allows for the use of certain medical cannabis products by qualified patients on the grounds of certain healthcare facilities.
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VIRGINIA
Several House and Senate bills have been introduced to provide numerous operational improvements and cost savings measures to Virginia’s medical cannabis program. These improvements would be to the benefit of the tens of thousands of Virginians who are participating in this program.
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WEST VIRGINIA
Senate Bill 521 allows edible forms of cannabis to be purchased and consumed by medical dispensaries so long as the edible cannabis product is not shaped or designed to entice children to consume it. Under current state law, edible cannabis is prohibited for sale and use. Patients may not use an edible form of cannabis to aid the ingestion of the plant by the patient.
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ADDITIONAL
ARIZONA
House Bill 2776 seeks to protect tenants by restricting the landlord’s power to terminate a rental agreement because the tenant uses marijuana. If passed, rental tenants in the state of Arizona will be protected from being evicted based on their marijuana use.
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KANSAS
House Bill 2363 expunges the records of anyone charged with a non-violent cannabis offense and discharges anyone serving a sentence for a non-violent cannabis offense. The bill would go into effect on July 1, 2023.
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MAINE
Legislature Document 555 increases the total number of plants that an adult may home cultivate from 3 to 6 mature plants, 6 to 12 immature plants, and an unlimited number of seedlings if the person is 21 or older with adequate land for a person who has a permanent home on the premises.
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MARYLAND
Senate Bill 671 allows out-of-state medical cannabis patients to access their medicine while visiting Maryland if they have a valid medical cannabis card from another state.
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NEW MEXICO
House Bill 314 automatically expunges the records of anyone charged with an offense involving cannabis that is no longer a crime on June 29, 2021, or that would have resulted in a lesser offense if the Cannabis Regulation Act had been in effect at the time of the offense.
In 2021, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill that automatically removed the public records of certain low-level cannabis offenders or redacted sections that were cannabis related. HB 314 takes this action a step further.
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RHODE ISLAND
House Bill 5412 legalizes cannabis delivery from compassion centers (i.e. cannabis dispensaries). The bill allows marijuana products to be delivered by a compassion center employee to a person located in the state that is registered with the compassion center, capping the amount permitted to be delivered at $300 in cannabis product(s).
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VERMONT
Senate Bill 72 seeks to strike the potency limits on cannabis products sold by licensed retailers. Vermont has a cap on THC: 60% THC on solid concentrates, and 30% THC on cannabis flowers.
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NORML OPPOSES
RHODE ISLAND
Senate Bill 0125 imposes new civil fines and penalties when a gathering of more than two people is using marijuana on private property. If passed, this bill would create a $500 penalty for first-time offenders, a $750 fee for second-time offenders, and a $1000 fee for third-time offenders.
