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Limited private-cultivation marijuana bill stalls after safety and enforcement concerns
Summary
Sen. Bolling framed SB 2486 as a controlled private-cultivation program with registration and guardrails that would direct revenue to veterans’ property‑tax relief; the committee recorded 3 ayes, 4 nos and 2 passes and the bill did not advance.
Sen. Bolling presented SB 2486 (the "Freedom to Farm Act"), a proposal to allow adults 21 and over to cultivate up to 15 marijuana plants on private property (with only five mature plants), require registration with the Department of Agriculture, and prohibit commercial sales, concentrates and oils. He described the program as a controlled compliance system with fee‑supported registration tied to veteran property‑tax relief.
Senators questioned enforcement and public‑safety implications, including how to detect inebriation. Vice Chair Lowe noted the absence of a reliable roadside test for cannabis inebriation and said that lack of a real‑time impairment test is the missing element for broader legalization. "We do not have a reliable street test to test if someone's been incapacitated by the product," he said.
The committee considered policy tradeoffs and fiscal estimates the sponsor cited, but the bill failed to advance out of committee (3 ayes, 4 nos, 2 passes) and remains in committee for further work.
