Marijuana reform legislation continues to advance in several states. This week’s update highlights legislative developments in Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia.
LEGALIZATION
Delaware
Update: HB1 previously passed out of the House with supermajority support. Most recently, the bill was advanced by members of the Senate Health and Social Services Committee. It now heads to the Senate floor.
House Bill 1 removes all penalties for possession of a personal use quantity of cannabis, except for those who are under 21 years of age. Possession of more than a personal use quantity of cannabis, as well as engaging in the public consumption of cannabis, will remain unclassified misdemeanors. A personal use quantity is defined as one ounce or less of leaf cannabis, 12 grams or less of concentrated cannabis, or cannabis products containing 750 milligrams or less of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
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Update: HB 2 also previously passed out of the House with supermajority support. Most recently, it was passed by the Senate Health and Social Services Committee. It now heads to the Senate floor.
House Bill 2, otherwise known as the Delaware Marijuana Control Act, regulates and taxes adult-use sales, promotes equity and inclusion in the legal industry from communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition, and reinvests a portion of tax revenue into disproportionately impacted communities.
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New Hampshire
UPDATE: HB 639 was amended and passed by the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee. HB 639 next heads to the House Ways & Means Committee. It would then be voted on by the full House. HB 360 has been passed by the House.
As amended, HB 639 allows adults 21 and older to purchase, possess, and gift up to four ounces of cannabis. The newly renamed Liquor and Cannabis Commission will be responsible for regulating the marijuana market and issuing business licenses. Sales to adults would be subjected to the 8.5% Meals and Rooms Tax.
House Bill 360 legalizes the possession and use of cannabis for persons over the age of 21. It strikes most all current references to cannabis (marijuana) in the state’s Controlled Drugs Act.
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MEDICAL ACCESS
Arizona
UPDATE: SB 1466 was previously passed by the Senate by a vote of 24 to 6. Most recently, the bill was passed by the House Health & Human Services. It now heads to the House floor.
Senate Bill 1466 includes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder as qualifying medical conditions. It also makes it free for veterans to register for the state’s medical cannabis access program.
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Kansas
UPDATE: SB 135 was tabled after being heard by the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs.
Senate Bill 135 sought to allow qualified patients to access medical cannabis.
Kentucky
Update: SB 47 has been passed by members of the Senate. The measure is now scheduled to be heard by members of the House of Representatives. House members have previously passed similar versions of the bill in prior sessions. Members of the Senate had never previously advanced the bill.
SB47 establishes a medicinal cannabis access program for authorized patients. Patients will be allowed to have a 30-day supply of cannabis products at their residence and a 10-day supply on their person. The legislation does not allow for inhaled cannabis uptake methods nor does it allow for home cultivation.
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Texas
Update: HB 1805 was passed by members of the House Public Health Committee. It now heads to the Calendars Committee to be scheduled for consideration by the Texas House of Representatives.
As amended, HB 1805 adds chronic pain to the list of qualifying conditions, replaces the THC cap by instituting a volumetric dose of 10mg, and empowers the Department of State Health Services to add additional qualifying conditions through an administrative process.
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ADDITIONAL
Illinois
UPDATE: SB 125 is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Special Committee on Criminal Law and Public Safety on 3/22/23.
Senate Bill 125 prohibits police from citing the odor of burnt or raw cannabis as being probable cause to conduct a vehicle search.
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Maryland
UPDATE: SB 51 passed the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee with amendments.
Senate Bill 51 amends statutes relating to the determination of reasonable suspicion and probable cause with regard to cannabis possession in the state of Maryland.
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Update: HB 980 passed the House Judiciary Committee with amendments.
House Bill 980 prohibits defendants in the pretrial, probation, and parole processes from having their release revoked solely because of their use of cannabis.
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Update: HB 232 was passed by members of the House by a vote of 134 to 1. It is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on 3/22/23.
House Bill 232 amends the state’s child neglect laws in such a way that excludes the use of cannabis in certain instances.
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UPDATE: HB 1135 was passed by the House by a vote of 97 to 38.
Senate Bill 587 and House Bill 1135 allow for the use of medical cannabis by qualified patients on the grounds of certain healthcare facilities.
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Update: HB 980 was passed by members of the House by a vote of 107 to 27.
House Bill 980 prohibits defendants in the pretrial, probation, and parole processes from having their release revoked based solely on the use of cannabis.
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UPDATE: SB 51 has passed the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee with amendments. HB 1071 was passed by the House by a vote of 98 to 34.
Senate Bill 51 amends statutes relating to the determination of reasonable suspicion and probable cause with regard to cannabis.
House Bill 1071 prohibits the odor of cannabis, the suspicion of the possession of cannabis, and the presence of money near cannabis, from being considered probable cause for police to search a person’s vehicle.
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Massachusetts
House Bill 1949 ensures that workers’ compensation insurance plans reimburse injured employees for their medical cannabis-related costs.
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Senate Bill 929 eliminates mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related offenses from the law and provides greater discretion to judges in the sentencing process.
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Senate Bill 1082 establishes reciprocity for out-of-state medical cannabis patients to purchase their medication in the state of Massachusetts.
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Senate Bill 59 allows students to possess and consume their medical cannabis on the premises of their campuses.
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House Bill 114 protects the employment and workers’ rights of medical cannabis patients in the state of Massachusetts. This bill would prohibit anyone from being discharged, otherwise disciplined, or in any manner discriminated against because of their use of medical cannabis outside of the workplace.
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New Hampshire
UPDATE: HB 82 has been tabled for the rest of this year.
HB82 prevents employers from refusing to hire or fire qualified medical marijuana patients solely because of a positive drug test.
Update: HB 431 passed the House. It now heads to the Senate.
HB 431 permits qualifying patients and designated caregivers to cultivate cannabis for therapeutic use. Registered patients would be permitted to grow up to six plants, of which 3 could be mature. Under existing law, qualified patients must purchase cannabis from retailers, but are not allowed to home-cultivate. Recently, New Hampshire’s Therapeutic Cannabis Medical Oversight Board voted to endorse legalizing medical marijuana home cultivation.
Send a message to support this effort.
New Mexico
UPDATE: HB 314 passed out of the House and Senate. It now heads to the Governor’s desk.
House Bill 314 amends the state’s existing marijuana expungement law by permitting residents with past cannabis convictions “to verify whether automatic expungement has occurred and request expedited automatic expungement if eligible charges have not yet been expunged.”
Send a message asking the Governor to sign this bill.
New York
UPDATE AB 4712 passed in the Assembly Health Committee by a vote of 18 to 7.
Senate Bill 2568 and Assembly Bill A 4713 seek to require public health insurers to provide compensation for patients’ medical cannabis costs.
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Vermont
UPDATE: HB 270 was passed by members of the House Ways and Means Committee.
House Bill 270 enacts multiple provisions regarding cannabis cultivation, patient issues, and other ancillary items to existing laws. The bill increases the maximum allowable THC content in a single edible cannabis product from 50 to 100 mg, allows medical patients to grow up to 6 mature and 12 immature plants, expands the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis treatment, increases the number of patients a caregiver may provide services for at once, and remove annual registration fees for qualifying caregivers.
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Washington
Update: HB 1563 was passed by members of the House 63 to 32. The bill is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce on 3/20/23.
House Bill 1563 provides protections for medical cannabis users in Washington. If passed, qualifying patients who hold the valid authorization but who have not been entered into the medical cannabis authorization database and have not been issued a recognition card will be protected from arrest.
Send a message to support this effort.
BILLS NORML OPPOSE
Kentucky
UPDATE: SB 228 was passed by members of the Senate. It now heads to the House.
Senate Bill 228 imposes an arbitrary 5 nanogram THC per se limit for motorists. NORML opposes such limits because the presence of THC in the blood is not a consistent indicator of either recent cannabis use or impairment.
