NH Liberty Alliance Questions Hassan's Emergency Declaration

The recent state of emergency declared by Gov. Maggie Hassan, D-Exeter, in the wake of a number of overdoses from synthetic cannabinoid or “spice,” specifically, the version called Smaked!, which sent a number of people in Concord and Manchester to the hospital, has caught the eye of a liberty organization that is openly questioning her use of the power.

Kevin Bloom, the political director for the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance, a non-partisan coalition of people and organizations looking to increase individual freedom in the Granite State, said the governor’s action constitutes an “abuse of power and the violation of the state constitution demonstrated by the seizure of private property by executive decree.”

The declaration was followed by law enforcement agencies demanding stores remove the product off the shelves. Bloom suggests that there are a limited number of things the state government can do when declaring an emergency.

Per RSA 4:45, he said, the governor can only issue a declaration of emergency when “natural, technological, or man-made disaster of major proportions is imminent or has occurred within this state, and that the safety and welfare of the inhabitants of this state require an invocation of the provisions of this section.”

He noted, “Disaster of major proportions? Seriously? Ruling by executive decree should not be taken so lightly.”

Hassan’s actions, he suggested, violated Article 12, 15, and 19, of the New Hampshire Constitution which cover protections for personal property provisions and consent of confiscation; the requirement that evidence be produced to show the need for confiscation and well as other legal due process provisions; and search and seizure protections.

The organization has not decided what, if anything, it will do to counter the action beyond noting that it was questionable, at best.

“Kids do some stupid things,” Bloom stated. “Apparently these are rivaled by those of their elders, who should know better.”

Hassan made the declaration on Aug. 14, stating that the synthetic cannabinoid posed “pose a serious threat to public health” and moved to counter the “serious overdoses.”