DES MOINES — Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday he likely will sign into law legislation to expand access to medical cannabis for more seriously ill Iowans, but first he wants to make sure the bill doesn’t have unintended consequences that would allow recreational use of marijuana-derived products.
STATE BY STATE: Iowa Cannabis News
“This was just worked out in the closing hours of the session, so we’re going to carefully review it, but I think this is certainly a subject that has a lot of interest and support,” Branstad said during his weekly news conference. “I’m pleased the Legislature was able to reach a consensus on this difficult and contentious issue. “
House and Senate members worked in the session’s waning hours to reach an agreement to avoid a 2014 law from expiring July 1 without something to replace it.
Authors of House File 524 said it would expand access to medical cannabis to more Iowans suffering from debilitating medical conditions, but did not go as far as the Senate earlier proposed.
