New Hampshire Cannabis Home Cultivation Bill Passes Senate Vote

The New Hampshire Senate approved the passage of a bill that could make it legal for medical cannabis patients and their caregivers to grow cannabis at home.

What Is SB 420?

SB 420 will now go back to the House for representatives for vote.

The state already runs a medical cannabis program that went live in 2013 and has over 8,000 participants. However, home growing is still considered a felony.

If the Bill is signed by the Governor, it will allow each patient to possess three mature plants, three immature plants, and 12 seedlings. This is widely regarded as beneficial for the patients and their families, since it could reduce treatment costs by a large margin.

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New Hampshire's Past With Marijuanna

A similar bill passed the New Hampshire House and Senate vote last year, yet it got vetoed by Gov. Chris Sununu. The House voted to override the veto but the senate couldn’t harvest enough votes to allow the override. For this reason, most actors are expecting the Bill to pass House vote without major constraints.

Matt Simon, New England political director at the Marijuana Policy Project shared his thoughts with Benzinga.

"Home cultivation isn’t for everybody, but it would be a helpful option for many patients who are unable to afford a steady supply from the state’s limited dispensary system," he said. "Patients are free to grow their own plants in any neighboring state, so there’s no reason they shouldn’t be free to do so in the “Live Free or Die” state."