Approved: May 23, 2013 by Senate, 18-6 and June 26, 2013 by House, 284-66
Signed into law by Gov. Maggie Hassan on July 23, 2013
Effective: Upon passage
The bill authorizes the use of therapeutic cannabis in New Hampshire, establishes a registry identification card system, allows for the registration of up to four non-profit alternative treatment centers in the state, and establishes an affirmative defense for qualified patients and designated caregivers with valid registry ID cards.
HB 573 also calls for the creation of a Therapeutic Use of Cannabis Advisory Council, which in five years will be required to “issue a formal opinion on whether the program should be continued or repealed.”
A valid ID card from another medical marijuana state will be recognized as allowing the visiting patient to possess cannabis for therapeutic purposes, but the “visiting qualifying patient shall not cultivate or purchase cannabis in New Hampshire or obtain cannabis from alternative treatment centers…”
Approved Conditions: “(1) Cancer, glaucoma, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, hepatitis C currently receiving antiviral treatment, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic pancreatitis, spinal cord injury or disease, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, lupus, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, or one or more injuries that significantly interferes with daily activities as documented by the patient’s provider; AND
(2) A severely debilitating or terminal medical condition or its treatment that has produced at least one of the following: elevated intraocular pressure, cachexia, chemotherapy-induced anorexia, wasting syndrome, agitation of Alzheimer’s disease, severe pain that has not responded to previously prescribed medication or surgical measures or for which other treatment options produced serious side effects, constant or severe nausea, moderate to severe vomiting, seizures, or severe, persistent muscle spasms.”
Possession/Cultivation: “A qualifying patient shall not obtain more than 2 ounces of usable cannabis directly or through the qualifying patient’s designated caregiver during a 10-day period.” A patient may possess two ounces of usable cannabis at any one time.
Updates: On Apr. 3, 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) posted proposed Therapeutic Cannabis Program Registry Rules and began the formal rulemaking process.
DHHS began issuing Registry Identification Cards on Dec. 28, 2015 by mail to qualifying patients and designated caregivers whose applications had been approved. The cards cannot be used in New Hampshire until the Alternative Treatment Center (ATC) dispensaries open.
The state’s first dispensary opened in Plymouth, New Hampshire, on May 1, 2016.
Therapeutic Cannabis Program
129 Pleasant Street, Brown Building
Concord, NH 03301-3857
Phone: 603-271-9234
Website:
Therapeutic Use of Cannabis Program
Information provided by the state on sources for medical marijuana:
“There will be four Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs) operating in New Hampshire. The ATCs will be located in Dover, Merrimack, Lebanon, and Plymouth. A Qualifying Patient may select any of the ATCs but may select only one at any given time. A Qualifying Patient will be allowed to purchase cannabis only from the ATC he or she has selected. No Alternative Treatment Center in New Hampshire is open for business at this time. It is expected that they will become operational in Spring 2016.”
“Alternative Treatment Centers” dhhs.nh.gov (accessed Feb. 29, 2016)
Patient Registry Fee:
$50
Accepts other states’ registry ID cards?
Yes
Registration:
Mandatory
