HB 163-FN - AS INTRODUCED

 

 

2021 SESSION

21-0012

04/05

 

HOUSE BILL 163-FN

 

AN ACT relative to cannabis use during pregnancy.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. Marsh, Carr. 8; Rep. Abrami, Rock. 19; Rep. Rung, Hills. 21; Rep. Crawford, Carr. 4; Rep. Nelson, Carr. 5; Rep. Knirk, Carr. 3; Rep. Deshaies, Carr. 6

 

COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill requires alternative treatment centers to prepare information regarding the risk of cannabis use during pregnancy.  The bill also requires the commissioner of the department of health and human services to prepare a brochure relative to the risk of cannabis use during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

 

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

21-0012

04/05

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty One

 

AN ACT relative to cannabis use during pregnancy.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

1  Statement of Intent.

The general court recognizes that the United States Surgeon General has issued a major health advisory on the risks of marijuana use in adolescence and during pregnancy.  The Surgeon General’s warning adheres to the generally accepted medical and psychiatric definition of an adolescent as ranging in age from 12-25 years old.  The advisory reads in part:

“I, Surgeon General VADM Jerome Adams, am emphasizing the importance of protecting our Nation from the health risks of marijuana use in adolescence and during pregnancy.  Recent increases in access to marijuana and in its potency, along with misperceptions of safety of marijuana endanger our most precious resource, our nation’s youth.”

“No amount of marijuana use during pregnancy or adolescence is known to be safe.  Until and unless more is known about the long-term impact, the safest choice for pregnant women and adolescents is not to use marijuana.”

“The human brain continues to develop from before birth into the mid-20s and is vulnerable to the effects of addictive substances.”

“Pregnant women and youth--and those who love them--need the facts and resources to support healthy decisions.  It is critical to educate women and youth, as well as family members, school officials, state and local leaders, and health professionals, about the risks of marijuana, particularly as more states contemplate legalization.”

“Marijuana available in dispensaries in some states has average concentrations of THC between 17.7% and 23.2%.  Concentrated products, commonly known as dabs or waxes, are far more widely available to recreational users today and may contain between 23.7% and 75.9% THC.”

“The risks of physical dependence, addiction, and other negative consequences increase with exposure to high concentrations of THC and the younger the age of initiation.  Higher doses of THC are more likely to produce anxiety, agitation, paranoia, and psychosis.”

“Marijuana’s increasingly widespread availability in multiple and highly potent forms, coupled with a false and dangerous perception of safety among youth, merits a nationwide call to action.”

Therefore the general court hereby addresses these concerns.

2  New Paragraph; Use of Cannabis for Therapeutic Purposes; Definitions.  Amend RSA 126-X:1 by inserting after paragraph XV the following new paragraph:

XV-a.  “Use in adolescence” means the therapeutic use of cannabis by any person whose age is within the generally accepted medical and psychiatric definition of an adolescent as ranging in age from 12-25 years old, as well as by individuals younger in age.

3  New Paragraph; Use of Cannabis for Therapeutic Purposes; Departmental Rules.  Amend RSA 126-X:6 by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:

VI.  The department shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, to document that counseling has been provided to all women of child-bearing age and adolescents 25 years of age or less about the risks of cannabis use in adolescence, during pregnancy, and while breastfeeding, prior to issuing or reissuing a therapeutic cannabis card to such individuals.

4  New Subparagraphs; Use of Cannabis for Therapeutic Purposes; Alternative Treatment Centers; Requirements.  Amend RSA 126-X:8, XVI(c) by inserting after subparagraph (6) the following new subparagraphs:

(7)  Information about the risks of cannabis use during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, including the risk of low birth weight and developmental issues.  Such information shall include the posting of a warning poster regarding the risks of cannabis use during pregnancy and while breastfeeding in a conspicuous location at the alternative treatment center’s dispensary location.

(8)  Information regarding safe storage and disposal of cannabis and paraphernalia to prevent accidental poisonings, including the contact information for the Northern New England Poison Control Center.

(9)  Information about the risks of cannabis use in adolescence as outlined in the Surgeon General’s advisory including changes in the area of the brain involved in attention, memory, decision-making, and motivation; impaired learning; declines in IQ, and school performance; increased rates of school-absence and drop-out, as well as suicide attempts; and risk for early onset of psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia.  Such information shall include the posting of a warning poster on the risks of cannabis use in adolescence in a conspicuous location at the alternative treatment center’s dispensary location.

5  New Paragraph; Use of Cannabis for Therapeutic Purposes; Duties.  Amend RSA 132:2 by inserting after paragraph XI the following new paragraph:

XII.  Prepare, in conjunction with the bureau of alcohol and drug services and the division of public health services, a brochure and a poster which provides information relative to the risks of cannabis use during pregnancy, adolescence, and while breastfeeding, which shall be posted and available to the public in all therapeutic cannabis dispensary locations pursuant to RSA 126-X:8.

6  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

 

LBA

21-0012

12/9/20

 

HB 163-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

 

AN ACT relative to cannabis use during pregnancy.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:      [ X ] State              [    ] County               [    ] Local              [    ] None

 

 

 

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2021

FY 2022

FY 2023

FY 2024

   Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Revenue

$0

$15,000+

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

   Expenditures

$0

$15,000+

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Funding Source:

  [    ] General            [    ] Education            [    ] Highway           [ X ] Other - Alternative Treatment Center registration fees

 

 

 

 

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill requires alternative treatment centers (ATC) to prepare information regarding the risk of cannabis use during pregnancy.  The bill also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to prepare a brochure relative to the risk of cannabis use during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.  Finally, the bill requires the Department's Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services to provide information addressing the risk of cannabis use by adolescents, and states that providers must counsel their patients on such risks.  Based on past experience, the Department estimates the required informational materials will cost approximately $15,000.

 

The Department notes that RSA 126-X requires the Therapeutic Cannabis Program to be self- funded through application fees paid by qualifying patients and designated caregivers and through the annual registration fees paid by the ATCs in New Hampshire, and expects that the program will cover the cost of the informational materials described above.  Annual registration fees are based on Department costs for administering the program, minus the application fee revenue received from patients and caregivers.  To the extent that there are anticipated program costs resulting from this legislation (in additional to the informational materials previously discussed), the ATCs will likely experience increased annual registration fees to account for such costs.  The amount of any such increase is indeterminable.

 

This bill has an effective date of 60 days after the passage, and is assumed to take effect in FY 2022.

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Health and Human Services