SCOTT LILES

sliles@baxterbulletin.com

Of the 29 medical marijuana-related bills filed so far this legislative session, two have been signed into law, two more sit on Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s desk to be signed and eight more require a vote on the floor to the state Senate to advance to the Governor’s Office.

Five bills have been approved by the state House of Representatives and advanced to the upper chamber’s legislative committees. Five more bills — four in the Senate and one in the House — are waiting for votes on the floor of their chambers. Seven other bills — four in the House and three in the Senate — must be approved by legislative panels before they can be considered on the floor of their originating chamber.

For a list of all medical marijuana bills and their statuses, please visit www.baxterbulletin.com.

To become a law, a bill must be approved by both the House and the Senate and then signed by the governor. Any bill altering the voter-approved Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment must be approved by a two-thirds majority of both chambers before advancing to Gov. Hutchinson’s desk.

Today at 5 p.m. is the deadline for legislators to file new bills to be considered during the General Assembly’s Regular Session.

According to legislative schedules, six bills are slated to be considered today and tomorrow.

House Bill 1451, which would prohibit members of the U.S. military and the Arkansas National Guard from the marijuana program as either a patient or as a caregiver, is scheduled to possibly receive a vote on the floor of the Senate this afternoon.

If approved by the full Senate, HB1451 would join House Bill 1402 and House Bill 1556 on the governor’s desk to be signed. HB1402 would allow the state Department of Health to re-classify marijuana if the federal government does so first. HB1556 would prohibit physicians from using telemedicine to certify that a patient has a medical condition that qualifies them for the marijuana program.

Sen. Missy Irvin of Mountain View, whose district includes parts of Baxter, Fulton and Stone counties, is a sponsor of HB1402 and a co-sponsor of HB1451.

House Bill 1369, which would require that tax revenues from the medical marijuana program first be used to reimburse the state for administration and enforcement, previously received approval by the House and is scheduled to be reviewed by the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee this morning.

An amendment filed Thursday by Irvin, the bill’s co-sponsor, requires the Legislature to re-examine medical marijuana proceeds in 2019 and consider redirecting a portion of that revenue to workforce education.

House Bill 1460, which would expand the ability of employers to limit medical marijuana use, is scheduled to possibly be considered on the floor of the House this afternoon. Irvin is listed as a primary sponsor on that bill.

Senate Bill 333 and Senate Bill 357 are both scheduled to possibly receive votes on the Senate floor this afternoon. SB333 would prohibit combining marijuana with food or drink, unless it is required for ingestion. SB357 would prohibit the smoking of medical marijuana while still allowing patients to consume it through other means.

Senate Bill 130, which would establish a THC level at which a driver or boater is considered intoxicated, is scheduled to be reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

The two marijuana-related bills that have been signed into law were done so on Jan. 24, about three weeks after the start of the current legislative session.

House Bill 1026, known as Act 4 once signed by Gov. Hutchinson, pushed the deadline for state agencies to publish their marijuana regulations back two months to May 8.

House Bill 1058, known as Act 5 once signed, removed language from the amendment that required doctors to weigh the benefits and risks of marijuana when certifying that a patient has a qualifying medical condition to participate in the medical marijuana program.