New Hampshire Governor Vetoes Medical Marijuana Greenhouse Cultivation Bill
- New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte vetoed Senate Bill 468, which would have allowed medical marijuana alternative treatment centers to operate greenhouse cultivation locations.
- The bill aimed to reduce energy costs and lower prices for qualifying patients by permitting greenhouse cultivation under Department of Health and Human Services regulations.
- SB 468 included provisions for application approval, detailed planning, local input, security regulations, and annual reporting on the impact of greenhouse operations on costs and prices.
- The veto can be overridden by a two-thirds majority vote in both legislative chambers if lawmakers choose to do so later this year.
New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte has vetoed legislation that would have allowed medical marijuana alternative treatment centers to operate greenhouse cultivation locations.
Senate Bill 468, which passed both chambers of the legislature by voice vote, would have allowed each alternative treatment center registered under the state’s therapeutic cannabis law to request authorization to operate a greenhouse cultivation location, either at the same site as its existing cultivation operation or at a separate location.
“I do not support expanding the cultivation of marijuana in our state,” Ayotte said in her veto message. “For this reason, I have vetoed SB 468.”
The bill was intended to reduce energy costs and help lower prices for registered qualifying patients by allowing greenhouse cultivation under rules adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Under the proposal, alternative treatment centers would have been required to apply for approval from the department and submit a detailed plan showing how greenhouse cultivation would reduce energy costs and lower product prices for patients.
The department would have been required to regulate greenhouse cultivation locations, including rules related to location and security. Greenhouse sites would also have remained subject to local zoning laws and other applicable provisions of state law.
The bill would have required the department, working with the local governing body of the town or city where a greenhouse would be located, to seek input from qualifying patients, designated caregivers and local residents.
Alternative treatment centers operating a greenhouse would also have been required to include information in their annual reports on the impact greenhouse cultivation had on energy costs and product prices. The department would then include that information in its own annual report.
SB 468 was sponsored by Senator Howard Pearl (R), Senator Donovan Fenton (D), Senator Daniel Innis (R), Senator Tara Reardon (D), Representative Yury Polozov (R), Representative Lucy Weber (D), Representative Mark McLean (R) and Representative Karen Ebel (D).
Ayotte’s veto blocks the bill unless lawmakers return later this year and vote to override it. A veto override would require support from two-thirds of both the House and Senate.