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H 3019

Put Patients First Act

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Gilda Cobb-Hunter and 3 co-sponsors

Establishes a regulated medical cannabis program with patient/caregiver registry, dispensaries, and protections for patients, caregivers, and physicians.

Referred to Committee on Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs
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Bill Summary · H 3019

Summary — H 3019: "Put Patients First Act"

Note: The text filed for H 3019 contains two distinct pieces of legislation under the same docket number — (A) a short Massachusetts amendment concerning an alcoholic-beverage sales tax exemption for certain fraternal organizations, and (B) a longer South Carolina-style “Put Patients First Act” establishing a medical marijuana program. The legislative metadata provided (dates, committees, hearing) appears to reflect activity in the Massachusetts process. Readers should confirm the official legislature record to determine the bill’s final, governing text and jurisdiction.

Purpose

  • Massachusetts portion (short): Exempt certain fraternal organizations from the sales tax on alcoholic beverages sold to members and their guests when served in private, members-only lounges (and in limited circumstances at special events).
  • South Carolina portion (longer, titled “Put Patients First Act”): Create a comprehensive state medical marijuana program authorizing qualified patients to use marijuana for medical purposes, authorizing physician recommendations, establishing a confidential patient/caregiver registry, enabling registered dispensaries, and providing legal and regulatory protections and limits.

Key provisions — Massachusetts alcohol tax exemption (from Chapter 63A)

  • Amends Section 1 of Chapter 63A by inserting “or other fraternal organization” after “veterans organizations.”
  • Adds a new Section 6 stating Section 2 (the sales tax on alcoholic beverages) shall not apply to:
    • Sales to members and their guests when beverages are served in a lounge or similar area reserved exclusively for members and guests and not available for general public hire/use.
    • Sales at special events/gatherings/dinners/ceremonies held in a lounge that is ordinarily available for public hire, provided only members and their duly qualified guests attend.

Key provisions — “Put Patients First Act” (medical marijuana; excerpted)

  • Adds Article 22 to Chapter 53, Title 44 (definitions and program structure).
  • Creates definitions: bona fide physician–patient relationship, debilitating medical condition (cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, severe pain, nausea, seizures, persistent muscle spasms, etc.), registered patient, registered caregiver, dispensary, enclosed secured facility, registry identification card.
  • Patient/cultivation/possession limits (explicit in provided text):
    • Up to two ounces of usable marijuana.
    • Up to six plants, with no more than three mature, flowering plants.
    • Cultivation only in an enclosed, locked facility.
    • Patients may obtain marijuana from registered dispensaries or from other registered patients.
  • Establishes:
    • A confidential registry issuing nontransferable ID cards to patients and caregivers.
    • Protections/defenses for registered patients, registered caregivers, physicians, and dispensaries from criminal liability and professional discipline when acting under the law.
    • Authority to register and regulate dispensaries, set fees, promulgate regulations, and create related criminal penalties.
  • (Text truncated) Provides for affirmative defenses when medical necessity requires amounts exceeding statutory limits.

Who is affected

  • Massachusetts portion: fraternal organizations that operate members-only lounges and their members/guests; state tax revenue administration; businesses that rent similar space to the public (distinction matters).
  • Medical-marijuana portion: patients with qualifying conditions, physicians, registered caregivers, dispensary operators, law enforcement, and state public-health/regulatory agencies.

Procedural status & timeline (as provided)

  • Prefiled: 2024-12-05
  • Introduced/read first time: 2025-01-14; referred to Committee on Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs (and also shows referral to Revenue committee on 2025-02-27).
  • Senate concurred: 2025-02-27 (per provided actions).
  • Hearing scheduled: 2025-09-29, 1:00–5:00 PM in A-1 (listed 2025-09-19 scheduling notice).

Notes and implications

  • The document appears to conflate two different subject matters and possibly two jurisdictions. The title provided (“Put Patients First Act”) matches the medical-marijuana text, but the top-of-file Massachusetts language is a narrow tax exemption for fraternal organizations. Confirm the authoritative bill text with the legislature’s official bill tracker before relying on this summary.
  • If enacted as the medical-marijuana text reads, the state would create a regulated medical cannabis program with patient limits, caregiver roles, dispensary licensing, and statutory defenses that would change criminal enforcement and regulatory responsibilities.
  • If enacted as the Massachusetts tax amendment reads, certain private fraternal organizations would be exempted from sales tax on alcoholic beverage sales to members and guests in restricted settings, with modest fiscal impact depending on use and revenue estimates.

If you want, I can: (1) pull up the official bill text for the jurisdiction you care about (Massachusetts or South Carolina) and produce a jurisdiction-specific brief; or (2) prepare a fiscal/revenue impact checklist for the Massachusetts tax exemption or an implementation timeline for the medical-marijuana program.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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