Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
New bills are on the move in Missouri, as lawmakers look at a proposal to allow medical marijuana under some conditions, and another to allow industrial hemp cultivation.
Industrial Hemp
Last week, the Missouri Senate Agriculture Committee voted 5-0 to advance Senate Bill 255, which if passed would allow licensed individuals to grow industrial hemp. A companion bill, House Bill 830, was approved in late March by the Committee on Economic Development and Business Attraction and Retention on a vote of 9 to 1.
Together, the two bills would define industrial hemp as cannabis containing less than 3/10 of one percent THC, exempting industrial hemp from the list of controlled substances in the state. The proposal also outline the requirements for Missouri residents who wish to grow hemp to obtain an industrial hemp license from the Missouri Department of Agriculture.
Hemp was once an important Missouri textile fiber crop, and the state was among the nation’s leaders in hemp production.
Medical Marijuana
Although it has seen several revisions since first introduced, House Bill 800 received a favorable recommendation by the House Select Committee on General Laws last week, advancing on an 8-0 vote.
The bill would allow up to 30 medical marijuana dispensaries - referred to as “medical cannabis centers” in the bill - and cannabis cultivation and production facilities in the state, who would grow and sell medical marijuana to patients with certain debilitating medical conditions.
Dispensaries would be required to grow the cannabis they sell, with the exception of cannabis infused products, such as edibles. Dispensaries would be allowed to buy and sell up to 30% of their inventory to and from other dispensaries.
Under the proposal, the state’s Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control would oversee the medical marijuana industry in Missouri.
Advocates are worried that as amendments to the bill are made, flaws in the legislation are growing. Among the changes are restrictions on the amount of medical marijuana a patient may possess, reducing the amount from 2.5 ounces every two weeks to 30 grams every 15 days.
The other major change to the bill was the removal of “symptom based criteria” for quallifying a patient to use medical marijuana. Instead, the bill would only allow patients from certain conditions to quallify for medical marijuana.
Those symptoms are cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Chron’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ulcerative colitis, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and post traumatic stress disorder.
The removal of symptom based criteria could limit some patients from benefiting from medical marijuana. For example, under the proposal, if a patient was suffering from severe seizures as a result of being diagnosed with epilepsy, they would qualify for the proposed program. However, a patient suffering from severe seizures as a result of a traumatic brain injury would not.
The changes to the bill also removed a petition process for the general public to request new qualifying conditions to be added to the medical marijuana program. A similar process for physicians to recommend new qualifying conditions was kept in the bill.
Advocates are confident that House leaders will call House Bill 800 for a floor vote this session. Missouri’s 2015 legislative session ends in mid-May.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical Marijuana, Industrial Hemp Bills Move in Missouri
Author: Thomas H. Clarke
Contact: Contact Advertising Sales - The Daily Chronic
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The Daily Chronic - The Voice of the Reform Generation
Industrial Hemp
Last week, the Missouri Senate Agriculture Committee voted 5-0 to advance Senate Bill 255, which if passed would allow licensed individuals to grow industrial hemp. A companion bill, House Bill 830, was approved in late March by the Committee on Economic Development and Business Attraction and Retention on a vote of 9 to 1.
Together, the two bills would define industrial hemp as cannabis containing less than 3/10 of one percent THC, exempting industrial hemp from the list of controlled substances in the state. The proposal also outline the requirements for Missouri residents who wish to grow hemp to obtain an industrial hemp license from the Missouri Department of Agriculture.
Hemp was once an important Missouri textile fiber crop, and the state was among the nation’s leaders in hemp production.
Medical Marijuana
Although it has seen several revisions since first introduced, House Bill 800 received a favorable recommendation by the House Select Committee on General Laws last week, advancing on an 8-0 vote.
The bill would allow up to 30 medical marijuana dispensaries - referred to as “medical cannabis centers” in the bill - and cannabis cultivation and production facilities in the state, who would grow and sell medical marijuana to patients with certain debilitating medical conditions.
Dispensaries would be required to grow the cannabis they sell, with the exception of cannabis infused products, such as edibles. Dispensaries would be allowed to buy and sell up to 30% of their inventory to and from other dispensaries.
Under the proposal, the state’s Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control would oversee the medical marijuana industry in Missouri.
Advocates are worried that as amendments to the bill are made, flaws in the legislation are growing. Among the changes are restrictions on the amount of medical marijuana a patient may possess, reducing the amount from 2.5 ounces every two weeks to 30 grams every 15 days.
The other major change to the bill was the removal of “symptom based criteria” for quallifying a patient to use medical marijuana. Instead, the bill would only allow patients from certain conditions to quallify for medical marijuana.
Those symptoms are cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Chron’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ulcerative colitis, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and post traumatic stress disorder.
The removal of symptom based criteria could limit some patients from benefiting from medical marijuana. For example, under the proposal, if a patient was suffering from severe seizures as a result of being diagnosed with epilepsy, they would qualify for the proposed program. However, a patient suffering from severe seizures as a result of a traumatic brain injury would not.
The changes to the bill also removed a petition process for the general public to request new qualifying conditions to be added to the medical marijuana program. A similar process for physicians to recommend new qualifying conditions was kept in the bill.
Advocates are confident that House leaders will call House Bill 800 for a floor vote this session. Missouri’s 2015 legislative session ends in mid-May.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical Marijuana, Industrial Hemp Bills Move in Missouri
Author: Thomas H. Clarke
Contact: Contact Advertising Sales - The Daily Chronic
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The Daily Chronic - The Voice of the Reform Generation
