Honorable Ken King, Chair, House Committee on Licensing & Administrative Procedures
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB3652 by Moody (Relating to the regulation of the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale, testing, possession, and use of cannabis and cannabis products; authorizing the imposition of taxes and fees; requiring an occupational license; creating a criminal offense.), As Introduced
The bill would establish that the offenses of delivery of marihuana, possession of marihuana, and possession or delivery of drug paraphernalia do not apply to a person who engages in conduct related to cannabis or cannabis products expressly authorized by the provisions of the bill. The bill would create an offense punishable as a Class C misdemeanor for the sale or distribution of cannabis or a cannabis product to a minor.
Exempting certain conduct from the applicability of an existing criminal offense may result in a decrease in demands upon state and local correctional resources due to a possible decrease in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement.
In fiscal year 2022, there were 37,930 individuals arrested, 2,273 individuals placed on adult community supervision, 440 individuals placed on juvenile probation supervision, 216 individuals admitted to an adult state correctional institution, and 2 individuals admitted to a juvenile state correctional institution for an offense of delivery of marihuana, possession of marihuana, or possession or delivery of drug paraphernalia. It is unknown how many of these offenses involved conduct related to cannabis or cannabis products expressly authorized by the provisions of the bill.
The impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources cannot be determined due to the lack of data necessary to identify the prevalence of conduct that would no longer constitute an offense of delivery of marihuana, possession of marihuana, or possession or delivery of drug paraphernalia under the provisions of the bill. It is assumed that any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources related to the sale or distribution of cannabis or a cannabis product to minors would not be significant.