Update: Governor Branstad signed HF 524 into law on May 12. You can add his statement here. HF 524 repeals and replaces the state’s more restrictive 2014 CBD exemption law, which was set to expire later this year.
Update: Governor Branstad said it is “likely” that he will sign HF 524 into law on April 24.
Update: In a last minute deal by Iowa state lawmakers, both chambers passed an amended version of HF 524 on the final day of the legislative session. The measure expands the state’s existing CBD exemption law, which was set to sunset this year, and expands it. Specifically, HF 524 permits patients with various qualifying conditions, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis, seizures, AIDS and HIV, Crohn’s disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, to possess CBD with up to 3% THC. The bill also seeks to establish regulations for the manufacturing and dispensing of CBD products within the state. The bill now goes to Governor Terry Branstad (R) for his signature or veto.
Update: SB 506 passed the Senate by a vote of 45-5 on April 17. This bill would recognize cannabis as medicine by moving it from Schedule I to Schedule II. The bill subsequently allows for the treatment of cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, amnong others with medical cannabis. It also establishes a medical advisory board to recommend additional uses, and allows for up to four manufacturers and 12 dispensaries in the state. Herbal cannabis and home cultivation would still be illegal.
Update: Senate Study Bill 1190, labeled The Compassionate Use of Cannabis Act, was approved Wednesday morning, April 12 on a 3-0 subcommittee vote and it cleared Senate Appropriations Committee Wednesday afternoon. Sen. Charles Schneider, R-West Des Moines, said the bill could be approved by the full Senate as early as Monday, which would send the measure to the House for consideration.
Update: With only days to go in the 2017 legislative session, lawmakers have introduced Senate Study Bill 1190 to establish a comprehensive medical cannabis program. Please use the pre-written letter below to urge swift action on this measure.
Update: Committee reported to recommend amendment and passage of House Study Bill 164.
Update: House Study Bill 132 is dead for this year’s session.
Update: House Study Bill 132 has passed out of the Public Safety Subcommittee and now awaits action by members of the full Committee.
Legislation is pending in the House, HF 199, to establish a statewide medical marijuana program. Under HF 199, qualified patients with intractable pain and other conditions would be able to obtain cannabis from state-licensed facilities. Similar legislation is also pending in the Senate, SF 205. A third effort, led by Republicans, Senate Study Bill 1176 is also pending.
A more narrow version of this program is proposed by separate legislation, HF 198.
While the program proposed by the measures is a fairly narrow one, it is far superior to the state’s existing CBD-specific law, which only applies to patients with intractable epilepsy and fails to provide an in-state supply source for CBD-related medicine. (Separate legislation, House Study Bill 132 is now pending to amend this law so that CBD-dominant strains may be grown in state under a state license.) This law will sunset later this year unless extended by the legislature. House Study Bill 164 would extend the lifespan of this program indefinitely.
Please use the prewritten letter below to urge your elected officials to support this effort.
