New Hampshire House passes psilocybin bill, drops medical marijuana patient shield

Lawmakers advance scaled-back psilocybin measure while rejecting patient protections in separate medical cannabis action.

FILE — statehouse · B.D. Gilfry / CC BY-SA 2.0

The New Hampshire House passed a narrowed psilocybin bill on March 31, according to Marijuana Moment, while simultaneously rejecting proposed patient protections in medical marijuana policy. The dual outcome reflects the chamber's differing appetite for psychedelic therapy versus cannabis safeguards—a split that complicates the state's broader drug-policy trajectory as legalization efforts face resistance in the Senate.

The psilocybin advance occurs against a backdrop of stalled cannabis legalization: the Senate has rejected two House-passed legalization bills in recent months and indefinitely postponed debate. Meanwhile, New Hampshire's medical marijuana program is growing—adding 2,100 new patients in 2025—yet lacks the patient protections lawmakers just voted down.

The rejection of patient safeguards suggests potential friction between therapeutic intent and regulatory guardrails in New Hampshire's cannabis framework. Watch whether the Senate's appetite for psilocybin reform, if it reaches that chamber, diverges from its hardline stance on cannabis legalization—and whether House rejection of medical protections signals broader skepticism about patient-focused cannabis policy.