New Hampshire Lawmakers Approve Bill To Let Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Convert To For-Profit Businesses

New Hampshire lawmakers have advanced a bill to allow medical marijuana dispensaries in the state to convert from from non-profit organizations to for-profit businesses.

After clearing an initial committee and then passing the full House of Representatives in March, the legislation from Rep. Wendy Thomas (D) returned to the House Finance Committee under rules for measures with fiscal implications. A subcommittee of that panel unanimously approved the proposal in a 9-0 vote on Thursday.

Rep. Carol McGuire (R) noted the near unanimity of support in the chamber as the legislation has moved through the process—with a fiscal note that showed a $13,000 cost estimate to implement the law that narrowly rose to the occasion of triggering a Finance Committee review.

“This is something that will let the alternative treatment centers operate more efficiently and, with any luck, will lower the cost to our medical cannabis users. So I’m in strong support,” she said.

Part of the motivation behind the legislation is the fact that medical marijuana dispensaries, called alternative treatment centers (ATCs) under New Hampshire law, don’t qualify for federal non-profit status. But in the state, they’re considered non-profit organizations, which has resulted in disproportionately increased operating costs.

Advocates say those costs are then passed on to patients, necessitating the policy change. And they also argue that the current policy is pushing adults outside of the New Hampshire program, with many purchasing products in surrounding states with legal cannabis programs.

“It’s encouraging to see that this issue continues to enjoy strong, bipartisan support in the House,” Matt Simon, director of public and government relations at the medical marijuana provider GraniteLeaf Cannabis, told Marijuana Moment. “The current business structure requirement for ATCs makes no sense and does not benefit patients in any way.”

(Disclosure: Simon supports Marijuana Moment’s work with a monthly pledge on Patreon.)

Similar legislation has advanced through both chambers in recent sessions but was vetoed by the governor. In 2019, a proposal passed the House and Senate, but a veto override attempt failed by just one vote in the Senate. In 2022, the override attempt failed by a single vote in the House.

Sen. Daniel Innis (R) has signaled his intent to file a bill in the Senate on the issue for the 2026 session.

Meanwhile, a New Hampshire House committee recently discussed plans to move forward with a bill to legalize marijuana altogether–even though members accept that it is unlikely to advance beyond the chamber given opposition in the Senate and the threat of a veto by the governor.

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“We know where it’s going to go. Let’s send a virtue signal,” the sponsor of the legalization proposal, Rep. Jared Sullivan (D), said during a House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee hearing last month. “Let them be the ones that are pissing off voters who care about this.”

Sullivan ultimately made a persuasive defense of moving forward with his original bill, pointing out that the House has repeatedly passed similar legalization legislation and that the chamber should stand its ground, forcing the Senate and governor to again go on record with their opposition to a policy popular among voters.

Meanwhile, after the House added provisions to a Senate-passed bill that would allow medical marijuana patients to grow cannabis at home, those measures were stripped in conference.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) also said in August that her position on marijuana legalization would not change even if the federal government moved forward with rescheduling the plant—a policy change President Donald Trump is actively considering.

“If federal law changes, I have to comply with federal law,” Ayotte said. “But my position has been, and continues to be, that we should not legalize marijuana in the future.”