NH House Approves Bill To Legalize Marijuana Possession

CONCORD, NH — The New Hampshire House this morning approved of a bill that would allow the personal use of marijuana for adults in the state. The bill – HB 656 – was originally recommended as “inexpedient to legislate,” effectively, a rejection of the bill, by the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. After debate on the House floor about changing times, prohibition not working and the liberty of the individual, illegally gambling in the past, as well as personal testimony about the dangers of alcohol, the committee’s recommendation was rejected and an amendment offered for approval.

The vote on Jan. 9, 2018, was 207 to 139 to recommend the bill, with proponents and opponents on both sides of the aisle. Read the full bill text here.

The bill legalizes personal use of the drug by anyone over the age of 21. It also legalizes the cultivation, possession, and use of hemp. The bill also authorizes the licensing of marijuana wholesale, retail, cultivation, and testing facilities, as well as a tax on the sale of marijuana, presuming some form of marijuana becomes like a cigarette as it has in other states.

A number of public health officials and organizations like New Futures had opposed the bill, worrying about the message of approval would send to children, while marijuana advocates pushed to have New Hampshire brought more in line with its neighbors in New England as well as Canada.

Marijuana was decriminalized in New Hampshire last year. Gov. Chris Sununu, R-NH, followed through on a campaign promise to sign HB 640 into law. The law went into effect in September 2017.

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