The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted (259-120) to override Gov. Chris Sununu’s veto of HB 364, a bill that would allow patients and caregivers who are enrolled with the state’s therapeutic cannabis program to grow their own cannabis. Under current law, home cultivation is classified as a felony.
A final vote is expected on Thursday in the Senate, which passed HB 364 on May 2 in a 14-10 vote. Two additional Senate votes (16-8) will be needed to reach the required two-thirds majority to override the governor’s veto and pass the bill into law.
HB 364, sponsored by Rep. Renny Cushing (D-Hampton) and Sen. John Reagan (R-Deerfield), would allow patients and caregivers to possess 3 mature cannabis plants, 3 immature plants, and 12 seedlings. Caregivers would be limited to growing for one patient, and the plants would have to be kept in an enclosed, locked facility.
Home cultivation of cannabis is currently legal for patients, caregivers, and adults 21 and older in all three neighboring states. While the impact of this bill would be limited to registered patients and caregivers, two consecutive polls conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center have found that 68% of Granite Staters support legalizing cannabis for non-medical use.
Medical Marijuana is now legal in New Hampshire for a variety of health conditions. These include:
- acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)
- Alzheimer’s disease
- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease)
- cancer
- chronic pancreatitis
- crohn’s disease
- Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
- epilepsy
- glaucoma
- hepatitis C
- human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
- lupus
- PTSD
- moderate to severe chronic pain
- multiple sclerosis
- muscular dystrophy
- Parkinson’s disease
- severe pain that has not responded to prescribed medication or surgical measures or for which other treatment options produced serious side effects
- spinal cord injury or disease
- traumatic brain injury
- ulcerative colitis
- or one or more injuries that significantly interferes with daily activities as documented by the patient’s physician.
Also qualifying are any severely debilitating or terminal medical conditions or their treatment that has produced at least one of the following:
- agitation of Alzheimer’s disease
- cachexia
- chemotherapy-induced anorexia
- constant or severe nausea
- elevated intraocular pressure
- moderate to severe vomiting
- seizures, or severe, persistent muscle spasms
- severe pain that has not responded to previously prescribed medication or surgical measures or for which other treatment options produced serious side effects
- wasting syndrome
The following medical conditions are under consideration as qualifying medical conditions for the therapeutic use of cannabis:
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Opioid Use Disorder
- Tick-Borne Illnesses
A public hearing will be administered on September 25, 2019, to consider these conditions.