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New Hampshire House Passes Marijuana Legalization!

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #817)

The New Hampshire House Wednesday afternoon approved a bill that would regulate marijuana like alcohol. The measure, House Bill 492, passed on a vote of 170-162.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Steve Vaillancourt (R-Manchester) with a bipartisan group of four cosponsors, would make the private possession and home growing of limited amounts of marijuana legal for adults 21 and older.

It would also direct the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration to license and regulate marijuana retail stores, cultivation facilities, product manufacturing facilities, and testing facilities. As amended by the House, it would enact a wholesale tax of $30 per ounce and a sales tax of 15% per ounce. The House voted down a similar bill 228-89 in 2012.

The bill now goes to the House Ways and Means Committee to review its revenue aspects. However that committee votes, it will return to the House floor for a second vote. If approved again, it then goes to the Senate.

"House members made history today, and they are clearly on the right side of it," said Matt Simon,the New Hampshire-based New England political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, which lobbied in support of the bill. "Marijuana prohibition has been an enormously expensive failure. Most Americans, including 60% of New Hampshire residents, agree that it is time to adopt a more sensible policy."

Unfortunately for marijuana advocates, New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) is not one of them. She said only yesterday that she would veto the bill because it would send the wrong message to kids. To actually achieve marijuana legalization in the Granite State, both the House and the Senate would have to override her veto. The margin of victory in this first House vote isn't enough to do so.

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

saynotohypocrisy (not verified)

She's sending a clear message that she thinks cannabis is more dangerous than alcohol, so therefore teens and adults would be making a healthier choice to use alcohol. She's doing her bigoted control freak best to keep those alcohol related deaths coming.

Wed, 01/15/2014 - 7:47pm Permalink
Justin Auldphart (not verified)

In reply to by saynotohypocrisy (not verified)

I agree 100%...How can anyone in NH government, whose liquor stores buy airtime in the Boston radio market promoting cheaper prices on alcohol and cigarettes, talk about "wrong messages to children"?

Where are the reporters asking the Governor to explain herself..I keep reading all these types of quotes from prohib politicians and cops and not one of the Fourth Estate ever challenges them or asks for further explanation...

That said, if NH goes legal before my State of Maine, I will be pissed (but heading over the border to buy to be sure)...

Thu, 01/16/2014 - 9:20am Permalink
Cannabisadvocate (not verified)

If the gov cant see past her own ignorance the state will never move forward... Cannabis is here to stay, it has been used as a medicine for over 5000 thousand years and keeps proving now in new science and development that cannabis is a major part of many of our lives in a positive way. I know through my own experience cigarettes & alcohol are far worse for me than cannabis. If it is sold under a controlled environment kids will not be able to use it as it is used today. As a parent I would rather my son or daughter to make his or her own decisions based on facts and not propaganda. After 21 cannabis is a much safer option for us responsible adults and patients alike. Whether Ms Hassan agrees or not the proof is here and cannabis will continue to heal the nation and God willing the world. tc everyone ~

Fri, 01/17/2014 - 9:12am Permalink

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