New Hampshire House Approves Marijuana Legalization, Will Senate Approve?

Could this be the start of the same cycle where a cannabis bill is approved by the House and then dropped by the Senate?

Last week, the resilient New Hampshire House voted again to support marijuana legalization. The approved bill allows residents over the age of 21 to use and grow marijuana personally.

Another carousel?

At least two other similar bills have been thrown out in the Senate since 2019. This latest bill, presented to the Senate, would allow adults in the state to possess no more than three-quarters of an ounce of cannabis. They would also be given the freedom to grow six cannabis plants in their homes for personal use. This approved bill was presented to the House along with another last summer. Both were retained for modification. The vote that took place a few days ago passed the House with an additional five votes. The House has a veto-proof majority to protect against a governor’s veto.

Association for the Legalization of Cannabis

If this new bill goes through the State Senate, New Hampshire will be one of the few states to legalize recreational cannabis in the United States. The road to making this dream come true has been full of ups and downs and a governor who resists the proposal.

The other times the law passed in the House, it defied party lines and presented the standard view everyone had on weed legalization. However, he did not succeed in doing so in the state senate. Cannabis legislation has the potential to single-handedly take New Hampshire’s economy to greater heights. The absurd aspect of the Senate’s refusal to pass this bill is that it failed to keep the drug out of the state. Without legislation, the black market is profitable despite the ban.

A governor opposed to legalization

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has been vocal in his opposition to the legalization of recreational cannabis. So it’s possible that the bill will still be defeated when it makes it from the Senate to the governor’s desk. A survey showed that about 75% of residents support this law. One reporter jokingly stated that legalizing cannabis was more popular than the governor.

Many suspect that legalizing cannabis could be used as a voting tool in this year’s midterm elections. Governor Sununu may finally be reading the state’s weed sheets as he races to the US to openly support his legalization. His primary reason for doing so will not be his love of cannabis decriminalization, but rather an attempt to bring cannabis voters into his tent. His main rival for the seat, Senator Maggie Hassan, is also a stoic anti-cannabis legalizer. With both aspirants on the same side against cannabis reform, it will come as no surprise if one switches sides to show support as the race nears. If this current bill passes the Senate, things may not turn out that way.

Legalization of cannabis in the country

Like New Hampshire, the country’s quest for state cannabis legislation has been frustrated on several occasions. At least 65% of Americans support the legalization, sale and use of cannabis, but lawmakers have been unable to unite and pass legislation to the President for approval. For a popular move like legalizing cannabis, it was confusing to see that the country has yet to enact any reforms to decriminalize the substance.

At the end of last year, hopes were high for the SAFE bill, which had been included in the National Defense, but was only withdrawn by the Senate at the last minute. The federal government’s continued stance against cannabis decriminalization has become the perfect excuse for politicians to avoid talks about cannabis legalization. Most contenders running for office this year have dodged cannabis legalization. Many of them said they would defer legalization until the substance is decriminalized at the federal level. This excuse is unacceptable as more than half of the states have implemented some form of cannabis reform.

In just a few weeks, new cannabis decriminalization bills will enter the House and Senate. Senator Chuck Schumer could again be one of the sponsors of the bills.

Cannabis in New Hampshire

New Hampshire has medicinal cannabis laws. The state approved the use and sale of medicinal cannabis in 2014. It was signed into law by Governor Hassan.

The state’s medicinal cannabis program began operating in 2016. Patients have finally been given access to regulated and alternative healthcare centers.

Patients in the program have conditions such as PTSD, Multiple Sclerosis, Cancer, Parkinson’s Disease, HIV/AIDS, Muscular Dystrophy, Glaucoma, Spinal Cord Injury, Lupus, Alzheimer’s Disease, ALS, Hepatitis C, Crohn’s Disease, Chronic Pancreatitis, Ulcerative Colitis, Nausea , fatigue, chronic pain and opioid use disorder. The law only allows patients to possess two ounces (at a time) of medical cannabis legally purchased from licensed dispensaries.

Minors can be registered in the state medicinal cannabis program. The parent or guardian must be on standby to monitor the patient’s intake of the drug. They must also register to prove that they are responsible for the patient’s health care decisions.

In 2019, Governor Sununu vetoed legislation that would have allowed medicinal cannabis to be cultivated for personal use by patients or their caregivers. However, their caregivers can collect their medicines for them from the pharmacies. One nurse can look after up to patients. Sununu insisted that any patient or caregiver caught growing cannabis at home would be charged with a crime.

bottom line

While we hope the bill makes it through the Senate this run, it’s not a bad proposition to seek a plan B if it fails again.

Lawmakers must understand that they are pushing back on an inevitable move. Sooner or later, there will be legislation in New Hampshire that will allow recreational cannabis use — even if the journey is harder than expected. The recreational cannabis law is about to cross the finish line, and more cannabis-related bills are expected in the coming months.

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