House Bill 215 is sponsored in the House by Reps. Robert Cushing (D) and John O’Connor (R), and in the Senate by Sens. Dan Feltes (D) and John O’Connor (R).
If passed, the commission created by the legislation would “examine the possible impacts of changing state policy to treat marijuana in a manner similar to the way the state deals with alcohol,” according to text of the bill.
The commission would study the legalization, regulation, and taxation of marijuana “including the specific issues related to growing, selling, taxing, limiting use, advertising, promoting, and otherwise regulating marijuana and marijuana-infused edible products.”
The study would look at states that have legalized both medical and recreational marijuana, as well as the states currently in the process of legalizing recreational marijuana use by adults, and use those states’ experiences to recommend a strategy for legalizing marijuana in New Hampshire.
The bill notes that the commission should pay close attention to how changes in the marijuana laws in neighboring states of Maine and Massachusetts, where voters in both states legalized marijuana at the ballot box in November, impact New Hampshire.
The commission would be expected to present their findings to the state legislature by December.
House Bill 215, which can be read in full here, has been assigned to the House Ways and Means Committee. A separate bill to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana in New Hampshire is expected to be introduced soon by Senate Minority Leader Jeff Woodburn.
New Hampshire residents can contact their lawmakers asking them to support this legislation by clicking here.
New Hampshire is the only New England state where simple marijuana possession remains a crime. Possession of any amount of marijuana in New Hampshire is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and fines of up to $350.
According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), New Hampshire police arrest approximately 2,900 people each year for simple marijuana possession offenses.
Attempts to eliminate criminal penalties for marijuana possession in New Hampshire have repeatedly died in the New Hampshire Senate. The New Hampshire House approved decriminalization bills in each of the last five years, only to see those bills die in the Senate.
According to a WMUR/Granite State Poll released earlier this year, 62% of New Hampshire adults support legalizing marijuana.
Newly elected Governor Chris Sununu is not a vocal supporter of legalization, but could be receptive to the idea if the right bill were to pass. He said in a recent Portsmouth Herald interview that he wants to wait to see how neighboring states implement legalization before New Hampshire follows suit.
New Hampshire’s 2017 regular legislative session begins January 4, and runs through the end of June.
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