Legislature convenes; N.H. remains an island of prohibition

New Hampshire is the only state in New England that hasn’t legalized cannabis for adults. The Granite State remains an island of prohibition despite its “Live Free” motto and voters’ overwhelming support for legalization.

Unlike Massachusetts and Maine, New Hampshire lacks a ballot initiative process. And unlike Vermont and Canada, lawmakers have failed to turn the will of voters into law.

The N.H. General Court began its 2025 legislative session on January 7, and three legalization bills have been filed — HB 186, HB 198, and HB 75. We expect the House of Representatives to easily pass at least one of them. But Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) — a prohibitionist — is now governor.

Several new senators were elected in November. A majority of senators have either voted for legalization or told candidate surveys that they support some form of legalization. But Republican senators may decide to kill the bills before they can make it to Gov. Ayotte’s desk.

Please take a few minutes to email and call  your state senator to ask them to stand with voters. Let them know adults should be treated like grown ups. The government shouldn’t be infantilizing its citizens and punishing them for using a substance that is safer than alcohol.

Other 2025 Cannabis Bills

Rep. Jonah Wheeler's HB 196 would create a state-initiated process to annul certain cannabis convictions. The MPP-backed bill would also direct courts to consider resentencing. In 2024, a similar bill passed the House by a lopsided margin but died in the Senate. Turning to therapeutic cannabis, bills have been introduced to increase possession limits (HB 190) and to legalize home cultivation (HB 53).

New Hampshire Almost Legalized Cannabis In 2024

In 2024, the state came within a hair’s breadth of legalizing cannabis , with both chambers passing different versions of a legalization bill and then-Gov. Chris Sununu (R) saying he would sign it.

However, dozens of House members who had supported the bill (HB 1633) initially voted to table a Senate-passed version. Many disliked the “franchise model” for retail sales, along with its delayed January 2026 effective date for legal possession. Some expressed optimism that the state would elect a Democratic governor who would sign a stronger bill. However, that did not materialize. In November 2024, voters elected a governor who opposes legalization — Kelly Ayotte (R) — making the path to legalization more challenging.

But we’re not giving up hope. Millions of Americans — including several governors — have evolved on the issue. Popular support has doubled in the last two decades. We’ll continue the push to legalize in the Granite State until we get past the finish line.

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N.H.'s decriminalization and annulment laws

On July 18, 2017, then Governor 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, along with the annulment bill. 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.

In 2024, the legislature and governor made some cannabis laws harsher. Then- Gov. Sununu signed an “open container” bill (SB 426) into law. The new law imposes a $150 fine on anyone transporting cannabis (other than therapeutic cannabis) in a location other than the trunk or — if there is no trunk — either the glove compartment or the compartment least accessible to the driver. In the case of a driver, a license suspension is also possible. For those under 21, the cannabis need not be in an “open container” to result in a possible drivers license suspension.

N.H.'s therapeutic cannabis laws

MPP was proud to work alongside patients and allies for more than a decade to pass medical cannabis legislation into law in the Granite State. On July 23, 2013, then-Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) signed New Hampshire’s medical cannabis bill (HB 573) into law. This followed several challenges, including Gov. John Lynch (D) vetoing medical cannabis legislation in 2009.

But we didn’t give up, and now thousands of patients are finding relief from the program. MPP has also supported expanding the law. In 2024, Gov. Sununu signed into law a bill (HB 1278) allowing any debilitating condition to qualify for medical cannabis. He also signed a bill (SB 357) to allow any healthcare professionals who are licensed to prescribe drugs to humans to certify patients for therapeutic cannabis.

For more information about the program — and for an application — visit the Therapeutic Cannabis Program website.

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