Legalization law pushed in New Hampshire

A bill that would legalize recreational cannabis in New Hampshire passed the state House of Representatives in a tough vote last week.

The House voted 169 to 156 on Thursday to “approve a bill that would allow cannabis to be sold in state liquor stores,” according to local TV station WCAX, which noted that the bill would only legalize cannabis flower and not edibles.

The bill now lines up with a separate cannabis reform bill in the Senate, where the appetite for legalization may not be as strong as in the House of Representatives. Republicans control both houses of the Granite state legislature, but as New Hampshire Public Radio noted, no legalization bill has ever passed the Senate.

Leaders there say any attempt to end the pot ban this session will likely face stiff headwinds.

“I think the Senate has always opposed legalizing marijuana, and I think it still does,” Senate President Chuck Morse told New Hampshire Public Radio. “I think there’s a concept here that people want to try to understand.”

The state’s Republican Gov. Chris Sununu adds another wrinkle to the political dynamic.

Sununu has opposed legalization in the past, but he made comments last month signaling a possible postponement. And last year, Sununu signed legislation that expanded the state’s licensing requirements for medicinal cannabis treatments.

Speaking before the New England Council last month, “Sununu gave an impromptu response to a question on which, for the first time, he publicly softened his stance, particularly regarding a particular bill being debated in the legislature.” Boston Globe reported.

“I think it will eventually happen in New Hampshire, it might be inevitable,” Sununu said, as quoted by the Globe, though he insisted he was “not for legalization.”

And referring to the bill that passed the New Hampshire State House last week, Sununu said: “If you’re ever going to do it, do this bill. Is now the right time? I am not sure yet.”

But before the bill even makes it onto the governor’s desk, it must clear the state Senate, where even the top Democrat has some concerns about the legislation.

That lawmaker, Senator Donna Soucy, told New Hampshire Public Radio that the bill’s “core concept — to allow the Liquor Commission to sell marijuana — poses a problem.”

“Whether the state should be involved in the marijuana business is something that many of us hesitate about,” Soucy said, as quoted by the outlet.

A poll released last month found that a large majority of New Hampshire voters (68%) support the legalization bill that would empower the Liquor Commission to regulate cannabis.

It’s not the only cannabis reform bill coming to the State Senate, however. Another proposal passed in the State House would legalize home cultivation and personal possession of cannabis but would not authorize its sale.

As stated in the analysis of the draft law, the measure “[permit] Adults may possess up to 3/4 ounce of cannabis, 5 grams of hash and certain cannabis-infused products; Allowing adults to grow up to 6 cannabis plants at home in a secure location not visible from other properties and to possess and process the cannabis produced from their plants in the same location; permits adults to give cannabis to other adults provided the amount is no more than 3/4 ounce of cannabis, 5 grams of hash, or up to 300 mg of cannabis-infused products, or 3 immature plants; provides that smoking or vaping cannabis in public by an adult would be punishable by a $100 fine; provides that violations of the cultivation restrictions are punishable by a fine of up to $750; punishes dangerous, volatile extractions; and allows adults to own, manufacture and sell cannabis paraphernalia to other adults.”