This story was originally produced by The Keene Sentinel. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Citing public safety concerns, Republicans in the New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee voted against a House-passed bill Tuesday that would legalize adult possession of up to two ounces of marijuana.
The 3-2 vote on House Bill 198 further dims prospects that New Hampshire will join surrounding states anytime soon in allowing possession of small amounts of the drug for recreational use without penalty.
The measure now goes to the Republican-controlled Senate. Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte is opposed to legalization.
Under current state law, possession of up to three-quarters of an ounce is a citation-level offense, similar to a speeding ticket. Possession of larger amounts remains a criminal offense. Licensed treatment centers are allowed to sell the drug to treat specific illnesses.
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Sen. Bill Gannon, R-Sandown, the committee chairman, spoke at Tuesday’s committee hearing against HB 198, whose sponsors include Rep. Jonah Wheeler, D-Peterborough.
Gannon said legalization would send the wrong message to kids, adding he never tried the drug himself because it is against the law.
He also said many young people already face a range of challenges, including academic and psychological problems.
“This is just one more burden we’re going to place on them when they see adults doing it,” he said. “It’s going to send a green light that it’s OK.”
Rep. Jared Sullivan, D-Bethlehem, the prime sponsor of HB 198, told the Judiciary Committee his bill would stop the needless arrest of people for doing something that is legal in surrounding states.
“This is sort of an injustice that needs to be stopped and that’s my primary motivation,” he said.
“It’s pretty naïve to think that people are not consuming cannabis in our state. It’s a tragedy that they are being arrested and having their rights and their lives disrupted or ruined because of those arrests.”
The New Hampshire House has passed marijuana legalization bills numerous times in the past, only to have them rejected in the Senate.
But last year, the Senate flipped the script and approved a legalization bill that would have allowed the drug to be sold in 15 state-licensed stores across New Hampshire. The bill died in the House, where many representatives wanted more of an open market for sales.
Sullivan told the Senate Judiciary Committee HB 198 doesn’t touch on the sales issues but instead is focused on legalizing possession. Meanwhile, it contains much of the language in the bill the Senate passed last year, including bans on smoking the drug in public.
He said he was following the example of Vermont, which first legalized possession of the drug, and approving a system for its sale four years later.
Rep. Daryl Abbas, R-Salem, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said at the hearing that legalizing possession without setting up sales provisions would “put the cart before the horse,” and be a boon to dealers, who might taint cannabis with other substances.
Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates for legalization, urged the committee to back HB 198.
“This is a very modest bill that would treat adults like grownups who can make their own decision about a substance that is safer than alcohol,” she said.
“In both this country and in New Hampshire, we value liberty. We value freedom and within reason we let adults make their own decisions to do things that might have some risks.”
She said people find the drug useful for a variety of things, including help with falling asleep.
“If New Hampshire had an initiative process, you would have legalized cannabis years ago,” she said. “Poll after poll after poll show the vast majority of your constituents want cannabis to be legal.”
A 2023 University of New Hampshire poll showed seven out of 10 Granite Staters were in favor of legalizing marijuana.
The full Senate will eventually schedule a vote on HB 198, which passed the Republican-controlled House, 208-125, on March 26.
The New Hampshire House of Representatives passed the bill March 26 by a vote of 208 to 125. The full Senate will consider the bill later this spring. Read More
