N.H.: Legalization bill heads to Senate floor!

Ask your state senator to support legalization.

Great news! For the first time ever, legalization has passed a New Hampshire Senate committee and is headed to the Senate floor! This morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed HB 629 in a 3-2 vote. HB 629 already passed the House and is now headed to the full Senate.

Ask your state senator to vote “yes” on HB 629, which would legalize simple possession and home cultivation of cannabis. (Check out our summary for more details.)

Meanwhile, New Hampshire State Rep. Daryl Abbas’ bill (HB 1598) to legalize cannabis but create a state-run cannabis monopoly will receive a hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee next Wednesday. Unlike HB 629, HB 1598 does not include home cultivation.

Rep. Abbas’ model for legal sales is almost surely unworkable due to federal law. Requiring state workers to commit federal felonies is preempted (or nullified).

MPP is encouraging the committee to amend HB 1598 in a number of ways — including to at least create a “Plan B” with automatic licensing of privately run retailers in the event that state-run stores don’t get off the ground.

What: Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing on HB 1598, the state-run stores legalization bill

Where: Room 100, State House, 107 N Main St, Concord, NH 03303

When: Wednesday, April 20 at 9:00 a.m.

If you’re not comfortable attending in person but want to make your voice heard on this bill, you can email comments to the committee.

And don’t forget to write your senator to express your support for HB 629. Then, spread the word to other Granite Staters, so they, too, can raise their voices to encourage the state to live up to its “Live Free or Die” motto.