The New Hampshire House of Representatives this week approved a second bill to legalize adult-use marijuana in the state, with a nearly-identical bill to one that was also passed along to the state Senate in February. But both are nearly certain to fail, given that a cannabis prohibitionist occupies the governor’s mansion.
The first such measure was House Bill 75, which House members approved on a voice vote slightly over a month ago, the New Hampshire Bulletin reported at the time. Then this week, House members voted on a 208-125 split to approve House Bill 198, Marijuana Moment reported, a strikingly similar proposal to HB 75 given that neither of the bills would authorize recreational sales or production, but only personal possession and consumption.
Both measures now are in front of the state Senate, and should they pass, they would likely be vetoed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a staunch cannabis opponent who vowed on the campaign trail last year not to let adult-use marijuana be legalized. That’s a reality not lost on lawmakers who voted in favor of legalization anyway.
“We’ve tried 50 different bills over the last few years,” Rep. Terry Roy, the Republican chairman of the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, said in February, the Bulletin reported.
“Nothing seems to go through. And let me tell you, this one ain’t going to go through either,” Roy predicted, referring to HB 75.
New Hampshire remains the only state in New England to not have fully legalized marijuana, and its medical cannabis program remains small and restrictive.
The House also this week approved bills to legalize personal possession and use of psilocybin, and to increase possession limits for registered medical marijuana patients, Marijuana Moment reported.
The psilocybin measure, like its recreational cannabis counterparts, would only allow for personal possession and consumption, not commercial production or sales.
The medical marijuana expansion bill, meanwhile, would allow patients to purchase and possess up to four ounces of cannabis at a time, doubling the current limit of two ounces, Marijuana Moment reported.
[[{“value”:”Despite the House approvals, the bills – and any like them – are likely to be vetoed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte.
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