The North Dakota House passed four bills on February 18, Monday which mainly aim at amending the medical marijuana regulations and law in the state.
One out of the four bills, House bill 1519, passed by the lawmakers would expand the existing list of qualifying medical conditions by introducing 13 new conditions to it. On the other hand, the remaining three bills: House Bill 1283, 1417 and 1364 respectively aim at eliminating the need of qualifying patients to get a doctor’s prescription, allowing them to purchase an enhanced amount of medical marijuana and permitting the availability of edible medical cannabis products.
The four bills are now headed to the Senate for further review.
Notably, the House voters approved legalisation of medical marijuana in the year 2016 on a broader margin. However, the lawmakers claimed that the new law still contained flaws and required alterations. The statute was rewritten during the House session in the year 2017. And since then, the North Dakota Health Department has been working rigorously to register growing facilities and dispensaries.
The state Health Department expects to announce the state’s first ever dispensary in the coming days, said Jason Wahl, a major regulator of medical marijuana in North Dakota.