The Marijuana Policy Project reports that while HR 573 passed and was signed by Governor Maggie Hassan, it was not without some provisions:
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[The Governor] informed senators that, in order to earn her signature, they must remove the home cultivation provision, gut the affirmative defense provisions, and require written permission from property owners or tenants before patients may use marijuana on private property. She also insisted that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) be removed from the list of qualifying conditions.
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Despite the bill’s shortcomings, its passage represents a big victory for patients, as New Hampshire will finally become the last New England state to adopt a medical marijuana law. It’s about time — statewide polls conducted in February and April by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center both found that a whopping 79% of voters support allowing medical marijuana.
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In a nutshell, what will HB 573 do? It will allow patients with qualifying medical conditions to register with the state Department of Health and Human Services to possess up to two ounces of marijuana at a time. The department will also register four non-profit alternative treatment centers (ATCs) to grow and sell marijuana to patients. Patients could also designate a caregiver to pick up their medicine for them, but neither patients nor caregivers may cultivate marijuana under any circumstances. Caregivers typically could assist no more than five patients.
