Great news! Last week, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) approved the licenses of seven medical cannabis companies to allow the sale of adult-use cannabis products to adults 21 years and older without a medical card later this month.

Mayor Muriel Bowser has signed the "Medical Marijuana Patient Access Extension Emergency Amendment Act of 2022" into law! The emergency legislation lowers barriers to the District’s medical cannabis program.

Good news! On June 30, 2021, Governor Wolf signed P.L. 210 into law, making several improvements to Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis program. P.L. 210 (otherwise known as HB 1024) was sponsored by Rep. Paul Schemel (R-Franklin) and acts on recommendations made by the Department of Health to revise the Medical Marijuana Act, which was signed into law in 2016.

On Tuesday, Gov. Chris Sununu signed HB 605 into law, adding opiate use disorder to New Hampshire’s medical cannabis program and allowing visiting patients to purchase cannabis while in the state.

It has been another frustrating legislative session for cannabis policy reforms in New Hampshire, but we did manage to make some progress. Several bills impacting the medical cannabis program have passed the House and Senate, and most of them are clear improvements. Some of these bills have already been signed by Gov. Chris Sununu, while others are either on his desk or on their way to his desk.

Yesterday, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 701, setting in motion a plan to begin legal marijuana sales in January 2022. 

Last week, the West Virginia Senate passed HB 590, a bill that would allow medical cannabis patients to obtain edible products from dispensaries, in a 26-8 vote. This would be an important upgrade to the state’s medical cannabis law, which currently prohibits the sale of edibles. Next, the bill will be considered by the House of Delegates.

Good news! This week, Gov. Ralph Northam signed legislation (HB 2218/SB 1333) that will allow registered patients to obtain whole-plant, “botanical” cannabis from medical cannabis dispensaries. The new law, which takes effect on July 1, will make it possible for patients to use cannabis in whatever form they find to be most helpful.

Members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives recently approved HB 2722, which puts arbitrary caps on the number of medical cannabis businesses allowed in Oklahoma and creates impediments for new entrepreneurs to enter the industry. Passage of this legislation would only reduce competition and limit patients’ options.

Yesterday, all three of New Hampshire’s alternative treatment centers (ATCs) testified in favor of HB 350, a bill that would legalize home cultivation for qualifying patients and designated caregivers, in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. This was a remarkable turnaround from 2019, when a nearly identical bill received no support from ATCs at a hearing in this same committee.