NH law expands medical marijuana qualifiers; Sununu vetoes cannabis greenhouses

Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill that would expand the reach of therapeutic cannabis in New Hampshire – but vetoed another.

As part of a package of legislation on July 12, Sununu signed House Bill 1349, which will add generalized anxiety disorder to the list of qualifying conditions for therapeutic cannabis. The bill, which takes effect Sept. 10, will allow people with generalized anxiety disorder whose condition is certified by a medical professional to apply for a cannabis registry ID and purchase cannabis from one of the state’s nonprofit alternative treatment centers.

Supporters said it could help people with post-traumatic stress disorder, and could give others with anxiety an alternative to treatment with pharmaceutical drugs.

The governor vetoed House Bill 1581. The bill would have allowed the state’s alternative treatment centers to build greenhouses on their cultivation sites if approved by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Proponents said the bill would have allowed the state’s ATCs, which produce and sell marijuana products for therapeutic cannabis patients, to grow cannabis more efficiently, saving on energy costs. But in his veto message, Sununu countered that there were not enough safeguards built into the bill detailing how the greenhouses would be secured.

“The legislation provides scant detail regarding safety, security, and location requirements,” the governor wrote. “Those details are necessary to ensure appropriate controls on a regulated substance.”

The veto comes a month after lawmakers killed a cannabis legalization bill that Sununu had favored, after some members of the House objected to the bill’s use of state control over sales.

This story was originally published by the New Hampshire Bulletin.