Republican Gov. Chris Sununu has signed a pair of bills into law expanding patients’ ability to access medical cannabis products.
The first bill, SB 357, expands the pool of health care professionals who can recommend medical cannabis to include anyone “who is licensed to prescribe drugs to humans and who possesses an active registration from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration to prescribe controlled substances and who is primarily responsible for the patient’s care related to his or her qualifying medical condition.”
The second bill, HB 1278, provides discretion to health care providers to issue medical cannabis recommendations to any patient who may benefit from it — regardless of whether or not they suffer from a state-specific qualifying condition. Under the newly expanded law, which takes effect in 60 days, physicians may recommend cannabis in any instance where they believe that “the potential benefits of using therapeutic cannabis would, in the provider’s clinical opinion, likely outweigh the potential health risks for the patient.”
NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano praised the bill’s passage. “Physicians already possess the discretion to prescribe any number of medications, like opioids, which pose far greater risks to health than marijuana. It is appropriate that health care providers possess the same freedom to make medical cannabis-related decisions as they do when choosing to authorize other therapeutic options for their patients.”
Similar legislation was approved earlier this year in Delaware. Several other states, including California, Maine, and Virginia, provide physicians with similar discretion.
Over 13,000 New Hampshire residents are currently enrolled in the state’s medical cannabis access program.
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