States that have both a medical marijuana law and have removed jail time for possessing small amounts of marijuana
Updates
Last update: April 15, 2024
Make 2024 the year N.H. legalizes
New Hampshire is the only state in New England that hasn’t legalized and regulated cannabis for adults. But, over 70% voter support has become increasingly difficult to ignore.
On April 11, 2023, the New Hampshire House of Representatives passed Rep. Layon’s legalization bill (HB 1633) in a 239-136 (64%) vote, sending it to the Senate. In prior years, the Senate has defeated several House-passed legalization bills. But it appears the votes could be there for a bill this year, depending on the details.
For the first time ever, New Hampshire has a governor who has said he’d sign a legalization bill — if it meets his parameters. Gov. Chris Sununu (R) isn’t running again, and the two Republican candidates are longtime prohibitionists. So 2024 may be the last window to get legalization done for years.
Gov. Sununu has pushed to have the state have direct control over cannabis stores. HB 1633 currently includes an “agency store” model, which involves extensive state regulation, but does not make the state a business partner in cannabis sales. It appears Sununu and one or more senators may only approve a bill if the state is a franchisor of cannabis retailers, and if there is a hard cap of 15 stores. So, the bill likely needs some revisions to make it past the finish line.
Other Cannabis Proposals Under Consideration — Both Good and Bad
Several other cannabis policy bills have been introduced, both good and bad. Rep. Jonah Wheeler’s HB 1539 would “automatically” annul violation and possession-level cannabis offenses, while creating a state-initiated process to consider re-sentencing for all other cannabis offenses. This MPP-supported bill passed the House in a landslide 283-80 vote and has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Other lawmakers have introduced bills to improve the medical cannabis program, including by allowing any condition to qualify, doubling possession limits, allowing home cultivation, codifying employment protections for medical cannabis patients, and allowing more types of certifying healthcare providers.
If you’d like to reach out to your senators on these bills, you can find their information on the legislative site.
Meanwhile, Sen. Bill Gannon introduced three bills to move cannabis policy backwards. He backtracked following strong public opposition, amending out the most problematic provisions of two bills. But the third, SB 426, remains a threat. The vague, harsh bill would re-criminalize New Hampshire drivers for having cannabis in their motor vehicle except in narrow circumstances. Cannabis would have to be in one’s trunk or, if there isn’t one, the “least accessible” location. Cannabis would also have to be in a “secure container,” which is not defined. Failing to do so would carry both a criminal fine and revocation of one’s driver’s license for at least two months. This is far harsher than New Hampshire’s open container law for alcohol, which has no mandatory license suspension.
N.H.’s decriminalization and annulment laws
On July 18, 2017, Gov. Chris Sununu signed HB 640, a cannabis decriminalization bill, into law. The law reduced penalties for possessing three-quarters of an ounce or less of cannabis from a criminal misdemeanor to a civil violation punishable only by a fine (a summary of the law is here).
Then, in 2019, Gov. Sununu signed HB 399, which allows people who received misdemeanor convictions for possessing small amounts of cannabis prior to decriminalization to have their records annulled.
MPP advocated for decriminalization in New Hampshire for more than a decade in advance of this victory. However, we know that this progress would not have been possible without the hard work of our many dedicated allies. In particular, we are grateful to attorney Paul Twomey, the ACLU-NH, the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance, and HB 640 sponsor Rep. Renny Cushing (who passed away on March 7, 2022) for their tireless efforts in support of sensible cannabis policy reforms.
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On Thursday, the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted 239-136 to send Rep. Erica Layon’s legalization bill (HB 1633) to the state Senate. Time and time again, the Senate has killed legalization. But this year, there is a window of opportunity to get it done.