New Hampshire commission to investigate cannabis legalization

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu last week signed legislation establishing a commission to investigate the legalization of recreational marijuana through a plan to limit the sale of adult-use cannabis to state retailers.

Sununu, who previously opposed legalizing recreational marijuana, changed his position earlier this year after a bill legalizing adult-use cannabis failed in the New Hampshire Senate after winning approval from the state House of Representatives.

“Knowing that the majority of our residents support legalization, it’s safe to assume that change is inevitable. Ignoring this reality would be short-sighted and harmful,” Sununu wrote in a statement in May. “That’s why I’m willing, with the right policies and framework, to sign into law a legalization bill that gives leadership to the state of New Hampshire and focuses on harm reduction — not profits.” Similar to our liquor sales, this avenue helps keep kids off substances by ensuring the state of New Hampshire maintains control of marketing, sales and distribution — eliminating the need for additional taxes.”

Sununu said he would sign a bill legalizing recreational marijuana if it included provisions making state-owned stores the only retail outlets for purchasing adult-use cannabis. New Hampshire uses a similar system for selling liquor, with the state’s 67 liquor and wine outlet stores being the only retailer of hard liquor in the state. The governor added that he would not approve a law legalizing adult-use cannabis that did not provide for such a state model for the retail sale of recreational weed.

“I’m supporting marijuana legalization in the right way — with this legislature — rather than risking an ill-conceived framework that could inevitably pass under future governors or legislatures,” Sununu said. “Should lawmakers pass future legalization legislation without these provisions, they will be vetoed.”

New commission to investigate legalization of cannabis

The measure passed last week, House Bill 611, establishes a commission to investigate the legalization of recreational marijuana in New Hampshire. The legislation mandates the study commission to consider a range of issues and policy proposals, including how the state will address the sale and marketing of cannabis, keeping marijuana products away from young people, and over-saturating marijuana stores in local communities should prevent. The Commission will also explore ways to allow local governments to ban or restrict state-owned cannabis retailers in their jurisdiction.

The new commission will meet over the summer and fall months to study and develop a model that would allow the state to control the distribution and sale of adult-use cannabis. The Commission’s findings and recommendations must be presented in a report by December 1st.

The 18-member New Hampshire Cannabis Legalization Study Commission includes five senators, five members of the House of Representatives, and representatives from the Attorney General’s Office, the Office of the Governor, the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police, the New Hampshire Bankers Association and the New Hampshire Hampshire Liquor Commission, the American Civil Liberties Union, the New Hampshire Medical Society and Communities for Alcohol and Drug-Free Youth. In addition, the commission must consult with the state’s alternative treatment centers, which currently distribute therapeutic medical marijuana in the state, and the New Hampshire Cannabis Association, an industry group that has campaigned for legalization.

If the commission is successful and able to make recommendations leading to a successful cannabis legalization law, New Hampshire, the only New England state that has not legalized recreational marijuana, will be among the 23 states that have approved marijuana for legalized adult use. Democratic state Representative Wendy Thomas, a supporter of House Bill 611 and a medical marijuana patient, said she hopes to be appointed to the state’s Cannabis Legalization Commission.

“Any states that have legalized cannabis get all of our money,” Thomas told New Hampshire Public Radio on Wednesday. “We’re just throwing away money that could help our state.”

To be approved by Sununu, the commission’s recommendations must be developed into a bill that can be passed by the legislature during the 2024 legislature. Sununu has said he will not stand for re-election in 2024, making next year the governor’s last opportunity to sign a legalization bill.

Critics of Sununu’s plan say it will establish a state monopoly on cannabis sales, limiting growers’ power to set their own prices. Others say the state’s approach limits options for members of communities disproportionately impacted by decades of cannabis prohibition.

House Bill 611 also includes provisions to ease restrictions on the use of medical marijuana, which was legalized in New Hampshire in 2013, by patients with chronic pain. According to the previous regulations, patients could only receive a recommendation for the use of medical cannabis for chronic pain if they had previously tried other options without success. The new law removes this restriction and will come into effect on October 8th. Patients can receive a medical marijuana recommendation without trying other, potentially more dangerous options, such as opioids.