That would move the cannabis industry another step closer to getting half the country on board with medical marijuana. Once 25 states allow residents to possess and use cannabis for medical reasons, the federal government will face immense pressure to reconsider its stance on the drug – which could lead to a watershed moment for marijuana businesses.

But also keep your fingers crossed, as the drive to legalize MMJ in New Hampshire faces some daunting odds.

A bill calling for the the legalization of medical cannabis in the state recently cleared two major hurdles, winning approval from lawmakers in both the House and the Senate. Normally, this would be enough to put it on the fast track for approval. But the New Hampshire’s governor has said he will veto it (as he did in 2009), citing concerns with the way it’s written.

All is not lost, however. There’s enough support in the House to nix the veto. Now, the Senate needs to muster up enough support to do the same. The bill’s supporters need to convince two additional Republican senators to switch positions and vote in favor of the measure. If they’re successful, they can override the veto.

How difficult is the task at hand?

Pretty difficult, but not impossible. Most lawmakers opposed to the bill seem pretty entrenched. But MMJ supporters in the Senate have been able to get some of their peers to switch positions – including two this week alone – and several influential lawmakers are now on board.

Can New Hampshire Medical Marijuana Supporters in Senate Overcome Veto Threat? is a post from: Medical Marijuana Business Daily - Legal, Financial and Dispensary News

The developments represent solid progress for medical cannabis in those states, reflect growing support for medical cannabis in the Northeast region of the country and could help create new opportunities for MMJ companies and entrepreneurs.

But MMJ legalization is not a done deal in either state. Far from it.

New Hampshire’s Democratic governor announced ahead of the vote in his state that he would veto the measure if it reached his desk, citing concerns over how medical marijuana would be distributed and regulated. If the governor follows through with that threat, it would mark the second time in the past four years that he has vetoed medical marijuana legislation approved by lawmakers.

But that wouldn’t necessarily kill the bill, called SB 409. To override the veto, three of the 11 Senators who oppose the measure would have to reconsider and cast votes in favor of the bill.

There’s certainly a chance that could happen, given strong support for medical marijuana among lawmakers in general. A key supporter of SB 409 told the Concord Monitor that he thinks at least two Senators have expressed a willingness to switch their vote and that a third could as well, though he cautioned against being overly optimistic.

The situation is brighter in Connecticut, where a similar medical cannabis bill easily passed in the House, with 96 lawmakers voting in favor of it and 51 opposing the measure. The bill will now move to the Senate for further debate, and supporters are confident there’s enough support to pass the bill. A similar measure passed several years ago, but the governor at the time vetoed it. That’s unlikely to happen this time around, however, because the current governor has already come out in support of medical marijuana.

New Hampshire and Connecticut Lawmakers Pass Medical Cannabis Legislation, But Hurdles Remain is a post from: Medical Marijuana Business Daily - Legal, Financial and Dispensary News