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New Hampshire Marijuana Decrim Bill Defeated in Senate

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #783)
Drug War Issues

New Hampshire won't be the next state to decriminalize marijuana possession, at least not this year. The state Senate Thursday voted down a decriminalization bill, with senators calling it "deeply flawed."

Introduced by Rep. Kyle Tasker, House Bill 621 would have decriminalized the possession of up to a quarter ounce and imposed a maximum fine of $200. The bill passed the House in March on 214-115 vote.

But it had a rougher reception in the Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee gave it a negative recommendation in April, and now the Senate has killed it.

The bill was too lenient, opponents claimed. Sen. Donna Soucy (D-Manchester) told the Associated Press the bill made punishments for pot possession more lenient than those for alcohol or tobacco (presumably for minors), that the House version of the bill had no age parameters, and that there were no increased penalties for repeat offenders.

Marijuana decriminalization or legalization bills have been introduced in nearly two dozen states this year. Some, like New Hampshire's, are already dead, but others remain alive.

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

Anonymous23231 (not verified)

Oh yeah and I'm sure the Marijuana Munchies Guts would also love it. You are devoid of logic in your posting. We don't need our state to have more marijuana than it already does.

Mon, 05/06/2013 - 1:46am Permalink
Justin Auldphart (not verified)

In reply to by Anonymous23231 (not verified)

This legislation, however, would have merely stopped criminal proceedings for possession, instead of burdening police and DAs with prosecution and slapping a felony or misdemeanor rap on the sheet of the unfortunate who decided not to go into the state run liquor for an intoxicant... not increase usage nor supply...stupid move by a stupidly run state in my opinion...

Sat, 05/11/2013 - 8:23am Permalink

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