Committee hears testimony to double therapeutic cannabis possession limit to 4 ounces

Concord — Lawmakers heard extensive testimony on HB 190, a bill that would raise the legal possession limit for registered therapeutic cannabis patients from 2 ounces to 4 ounces.

Supporters told the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee the change would ease access and lower cost and travel burdens for patients who rely on cannabis for medical reasons. "This bill ... increases therapeutic cannabis purchase and possession limits from 2 to 4 ounces," Representative Heath Howard told the committee when he introduced the measure.

The bill's proponents described several rationales. Heather Marie Brown, patient representative and alternate chair of the Therapeutic Cannabis Medical Oversight Board, said the current 2-ounce limit forces some patients to make frequent trips to dispensaries and drives some toward the unregulated market. "If I was able to purchase 4 ounces of cannabis at 1 time, I could go home and I can make my butter, and I can make my oil, and I can make my tinctures, and then I am all set for a month," Brown said, adding that the larger…