Earlier today, the New Hampshire Senate voted down a bill (HB 629) to make it legal for adults who are 21 or older to possess and grow small amounts of cannabis. Only nine of the 24 senators voted for legalization.

On Thursday, March 3, the House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on HB 1598, which would  legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older and create a state-run monopoly to sell cannabis. (The full House approved the bill once, but then re-referred it to Ways and Means due to its fiscal impact.)

New Hampshire’s legislature convened its 2022 legislative session today, starting another year where the “Live Free or Die” State is an island of prohibition, surrounded by states and a country where cannabis is legal.

On Tuesday, Gov. Chris Sununu signed HB 605 into law, adding opiate use disorder to New Hampshire’s medical cannabis program and allowing visiting patients to purchase cannabis while in the state.

It has been another frustrating legislative session for cannabis policy reforms in New Hampshire, but we did manage to make some progress. Several bills impacting the medical cannabis program have passed the House and Senate, and most of them are clear improvements. Some of these bills have already been signed by Gov. Chris Sununu, while others are either on his desk or on their way to his desk.

There is no excuse for maintaining cannabis prohibition — Urge your state senator to support HB 1648! In February, the New Hampshire House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in favor of HB 1648, the bipartisan bill that would legalize possession and limited cultivation of cannabis for adults 21 and older in New Hampshire. The bill passed with a veto-proof 236-112 majority and advanced to the Senate, which has rejected previous cannabis legalization bills. Beginning in March, the legislature…

Focus returns to the House legalization bill and Gov. Chris Sununu — Email your legislators and call the governor! Yesterday morning, the medical cannabis home cultivation bill (SB 420) passed the Senate in a voice vote. Next, it will proceed to the House, which has passed similar bills by overwhelming margins. Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed a similar bill in 2019, and the Senate was three votes short of overriding his veto, so either the governor or three senators will need to change their positions…