HB 492: Tax Marijuana, Not Food and Housing

The New Hampshire General Court has been trying to roll back Prohibition for six years. Four times in the last six years, they have voted to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. In 2012, a  “decrim” bill passed with a 2-1 margin. The branch of government closest to the people of NH has spoken with a clear voice. The voters are tired of paying for Prohibition, tired of its drain on law enforcement resources that should be fighting real crime, and tired of the loss of civil liberties. This is the “Live Free or Die” state, and yet we are the only state in New England that has not yet started to roll back Richard Nixon’s “War on (some) Drugs”.

In 2013’s session, Representative Steve Vaillancourt introduced (and both Republicans and Democrats co-sponsored) HB 492, which would legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana and place a 15 percent sales tax on it. The bill was retained for interim study last year. Passing HB 492 this  Wednesday will strengthen our state financially, help law enforcement concentrate on real crimes against persons and property, and give us back claim to the “Live Free or Die” motto. This will be the fifth time the people of New Hampshire have voted through their representatives to give up on government control of personal lives and to return to personal responsibility.

Although marijuana is a far less harmful drug than alcohol, a look back at alcohol Prohibition is useful. When alcohol was made illegal (by a Constitutional Amendment, not by Federal overreach), it caused the same problems that we have now with illegal drugs. People didn’t stop drinking, but the illegal alcohol cost them more. Tax revenue was lost. People died from adulterated alcohol. Profits from the illegal trade created an ecological niche for organized crime. Murder, assault, and corruption of law enforcement all skyrocketed.

When FDR took office, he quickly signed legislation repealing the Prohibition amendment. State governments started receiving tax revenues from legal alcohol again. The human costs of deaths and blindness from adulterated alcohol ended. Murder and assault rates fell immediately. Today, no one is killed in drive-by shootings over beer or bourbon. And according to New Futures (New Hampshire’s largest anti-substance-abuse group), the state collected around $150 million dollars in alcohol taxes in 2012.

Legalizing marijuana would have several benefits. First of all, as has been seen in other states with decriminalization laws, non drug users aren’t going to run out and start using marijuana. What will happen is “drug switching:” people who now may be binge drinkers or even OxyContin users will switch to the safer marijuana. No one has ever died of a marijuana overdose, and it doesn’t have the severe physical effects of many other drugs of abuse. While HB 492 will keep it illegal to drive under the influence of marijuana, THC in the blood doesn’t affect traffic safety as severely as alcohol does.

The NH affiliate of ACLU has released a report showing that direct costs to the state of prosecuting marijuana crimes were $6,526,364 in 2010. But the real cost to society must be far higher. Current law provides for a jail sentence of up to one year for possession of even the smallest amount of marijuana. A young person convicted for a youthful indiscretion can have his/her entire life derailed, education disrupted, career aborted, relationships cut off. When in prison with violent criminals, peaceful offenders may even be permanently injured or drawn into a life of crime.

There are real crimes that go unsolved while police are investigating marijuana smokers. Shouldn’t society put a higher priority on solving murders, rapes, home invasions, and robberies? And shouldn’t jail and prison space be reserved for violent criminals to keep them off the streets, rather than for locking up non-violent marijuana users?

Ultimately, “Live Free or Die” means taking responsibility for ourselves, not depending on government to run our lives. Email your representatives to thank them for their support of HB 492… and email your senator and the governor to tell them to quit blocking the clear will of New Hampshire’s voters. Ask them why they’d rather tax the food and housing of poor families than tax marijuana.