Marijuana reform legislation continues to advance in several states. This week’s update highlights legislative developments in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Washington.
LEGALIZATION
Delaware
UPDATE: HB1 has passed both legislative chambers with supermajority support. The bill has been delivered to the Governor, who has until Saturday, April 22 to act on the bill. Democratic Gov. John Carney has previously expressed opposition to further liberalizing adult-use cannabis laws.
House Bill 1 removes all penalties for the 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).
Send a message to support this effort.
UPDATE: HB 2 has also passed both legislative chambers with supermajority support and has been delivered to Democratic Gov. John Carney. He has until Wednesday, April 26 to take action.
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.
Send a message to support this effort.
Minnesota
UPDATE: HF 100 has passed 15 committees and now heads to the House floor for a vote. SF 73 has passed 13 Senate committees. It has two more panels before heading to the Senate floor.
HF 100/SF73 allows adults 21 and older to purchase up to two ounces of cannabis and to home-cultivate up to eight plants (four of which may be mature). In addition to creating a system of licensed, private retail cannabis businesses, municipalities, and counties could own and operate government dispensaries. Those with prior marijuana convictions would have their records automatically expunged. The legislation also allows for on-site consumption lounges and cannabis delivery services. It also contains language banning the sale of unregulated synthetic cannabinoids, consistent with Board of Pharmacy rules put into place last year.
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New Hampshire
UPDATE: HB 639 and HB 360 have passed the House of Representatives. They are scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on 4/20/23.
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 is responsible for regulating the marijuana market and issuing business licenses. Localities can limit or ban marijuana businesses from operating in their area.
Within 18 months of enactment, the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the commission must develop regulations allowing existing medical cannabis dispensaries to apply for dual licenses to start serving adult consumers.
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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North Carolina
House Bill 626 legalizes and regulates cannabis possession, manufacturing, and sale in the state of North Carolina. This bill allows for possession of up to 2 ounces of cannabis flower and 2000 mg of THC in a concentrated form for persons over the age of 21. It further permits the home cultivation of six plants.
Send a message to support this effort.
MEDICAL ACCESS
California
UPDATE: SB 302 was scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on 4/18/23 and is pending a vote.
SB 302 expands the current law requiring specific types of healthcare facilities to allow for a terminally ill patient’s use of medicinal cannabis within the healthcare facility. The legislation expands the law to provide access to those patients at least 65 years of age who struggle with a chronic disease.
Send a message to support this effort.
Vermont
UPDATE: HB 270 has passed the VT House of Representatives. It is now pending a vote in the Senate Committee on Agriculture.
House Bill 270 increases the number of plants allowed for patients to cultivate at home, allowing for six mature plants and 12 immature plants. The bill increases the maximum allowable THC content in a single edible cannabis product from 50 to 100 mg, expands the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis treatment, increases the number of patients a caregiver may provide services for at once, and removes annual registration fees for qualifying caregivers.
Send a message in support of this effort.
ADDITIONAL
Alaska
UPDATE: HB28 is spending a vote in the House Judiciary Committee.
House Bill 28 reduces employment barriers for people previously convicted of low-level marijuana possession crimes. It prohibits the release of conviction records concerning low-level marijuana possession charges by the Alaska Court System or any other agency. The bill would also (to the largest extent possible) purge records of these convictions from publicly accessible records.
Send a message to support this effort.
Arkansas
House Resolution 1079 and SR 54 extend the annual renewal of medical marijuana identification cards from one to two years without increasing the annual fee. This bill also seeks to discount the registry fee for senior citizens and veterans by 50 percent.
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California
UPDATE: AB 374 passed the Assembly Business And Professions Committee. It is now scheduled for a hearing in the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee on 4/26.
AB 374 permits cannabis lounges to sell non-cannabis-infused food and beverages and also allows them to sell tickets to concerts and other events.
Send a message to support this effort.
Update: SB 285 passed Senate Business, Professions, and Economic Development Committee 12 to 1.
SB 285 authorizes local jurisdictions to allow for the preparation or sale of non-cannabis food or beverage products by a licensed retailer or microbusiness in the area where the consumption of cannabis is allowed.
Send a message to support this effort.
Colorado
UPDATE: HB 1279 passed the House 40 to 23. It has now been assigned to the Senate Finance Committee.
House Bill 1279 permits residents to purchase marijuana products online with the opportunity to pick up their product or have it delivered to their homes.
Send a message to support this effort.
Illinois
UPDATE: SB 125 passed the Senate 33 to 20. It is scheduled for a hearing in the House Executive Committee on 4/19/23.
Senate Bill 125 prohibits law enforcement from engaging in a motor vehicle search based solely upon the odor of burnt or raw cannabis.
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Louisiana
UPDATE: HB 286 is scheduled for a hearing in the Criminal Justice Committee on 4/20/23.
House Bill 286 allows those with marijuana possession misdemeanor offense charges to file a motion for the expungement of their records ninety days following their conviction. First-time offenders would be exempt from processing fees.
Send a message to support this effort.
Maine
UPDATE: LD 1530 is scheduled for a House Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee hearing on 4/19/23.
LD 1530 authorizes on-site cannabis consumption at certain medical dispensaries. In order to comply with the new regulations, a medical dispensary must administer the product after obtaining a department permit and creating a space physically separate from the dispensary or prescription site.
Send a message to support this effort.
Massachusetts
UPDATE: HB 1914 and HB 1955 are scheduled for hearing in the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development on 5/9/23.
House Bill 1914 protects consumers from employment discrimination absent evidence of either cannabis use or impairment in the work site, and it provides attorney-fee awards for employees who succeed in challenging employment discrimination.
House Bill 1955 prohibits employers from testing their employees for cannabis without the individual employee’s express consent, and employment may not be hinged on the test results (both concerning termination and hiring).
Send a message to support this effort.
Nevada
UPDATE: AB 411 passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee. It now heads to the House floor.
Assembly Bill 411 allows doctors to administer non-smoked formulations of medical marijuana to patients in certain hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, or who are undergoing hospice care.
Send a message to support this effort.
New Hampshire
Update: HB 431 passed the House. It is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on 4/20/23.
HB 431 permits qualifying patients and designated caregivers to home-cultivate cannabis for therapeutic use. Registered patients would be permitted to grow up to six plants, of which 3 may be mature at one time. Under existing law, qualified patients must purchase cannabis from retailers, but they 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.
Washington
UPDATE: HB 1563 was passed by members of the House 63 to 32 and the Senate 37 to 12. It now heads to the Governor’s desk.
House Bill 1563 provides protections for medical cannabis users in Washington. If passed, qualifying patients who hold a valid authorization but 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 OPPOSES
New York
A 6174 prohibits the production and sale of edible cannabis products, as well as other flavored products such as vaporizers.
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Oklahoma
UPDATE: SB 440 has passed the Senate 43 to 4. The bill passed the House Alcohol, Tobacco, and Controlled Substances Committee. It now heads to the House floor.
Senate Bill 440 limits the THC potency of medical marijuana products and prohibits licensed medical marijuana dispensaries from selling medical marijuana products that exceed those potency limits.
