New Hampshire State House

The legal use of medical marijuana in New Hampshire just took a big step towards becoming a reality today. The New Hampshire House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved HB 573 in a 286 to 64 vote.

The bill would allow people with certain serious medical conditions to use medical marijuana if they get a doctor’s recommendation. Patients and caregivers would be required to register with the state. Patients would be allowed to grow up to three plants. The law would also allow for the creation of five non-profit alternative treatment centers where qualified patients could get access to medical marijuana.

Now that the bill has passed the House it moves on to the Senate where its chances of passage appear very good. Both the House and Senate approved a similar medical marijuana bill back in 2012 but it was vetoed by then Governor John Lynch (D). Lynch has since been replaced by Gov. Maggie Hassan (D). The new governor is a supporter of medical marijuana, having voted for it while serving in the state legislature.

If all goes as expected medical marijuana will soon be legal in New Hampshire.

medical marijuana

The people of New Hampshire want medical marijuana legalized by their state government. According to the latest WMUR Granite State Poll, an incredible 79 percent of adults in New Hampshire support medical marijuana while only 14 percent oppose the idea.

The poll found medical marijuana has majority support among all age brackets, regions, partisan groups, and ideological leanings. Even conservatives and senior citizens, the two groups that tend to be the most opposed to marijuana reform, overwhelmingly back the idea.

Hopefully the fact that the people New Hampshire so strongly support medical marijuana will spur the state legislature to move quickly on the issue this year. The legislature passed a medical marijuana bill last year but it was vetoed by then-Gov. John Lynch (D). Now that Lynch has been replaced by the pro-medical marijuana Gov. Margaret Hassan (D), the chances of a medical marijuana law being adopted soon look bright.

The poll also asked about legalizing marijuana for recreational use and found a plurality support for the change. 48 percent of the state supports fully legalizing cannabis, while 45 percent oppose legalization. Not surprisingly there was a big age divide on the issue with a majority of all adults under the age of 65 in support of legalization, but a majority of senior citizens opposed. The natural demographic turnover ensures support for legalization will grow in the coming years.

Photo by Dank Depot under Creative Commons license

New Hampshire
PPP (1/7-8)
Two states — Colorado and Washington — recently changed their laws to allow marijuana to be regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol, for legal use by adults age 21 and older. Would you support or oppose changing New Hampshire law to regulate and tax marijuana similarly to alcohol, where stores would be licensed to sell marijuana to adults 21 and older?
Support ………………. 53%
Oppose ………………. 37%
Not sure …………….. 10%

It should be pointed out that PPP’s final polling of Colorado and Washington State last year found their marijuana legalization initiatives at right around 53 percent support and both went on to easy wins. There is good reason to believe if New Hampshire actually allowed citizens initiatives the voters of the state would easily approve one legalizing marijuana. Unfortunately, New Hampshire is part of the roughly half the country that doesn’t allow ballot initiatives, so any reform will need to move through the state legislature.

It will probably be several more years before the legislature is ready to embrace full legalization, but there is a very good chance that state may at least move forward with approving medical marijuana in the coming months. The state almost approved medical marijuana last year, but a bipartisan bill was vetoed by then Gov. John Lynch (D). Lynch has now been replaced by Gov. Maggie Hassan (D), who has been a supporter of medical marijuana.

The same poll found that voters overwhelmingly back medical marijuana with 68 percent in support compared to just 26 percent opposed. Allowing seriously ill people to use marijuana based on a doctor’s recommendation has majority support across all age groups and party identifications. Given how completely uncontroversial medical marijuana is with the electorate, there is basically no excuse for the legislature not to move forward with modest reform this year.

While disappointing, the result wasn’t unexpected. Overturning a veto requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers of the legislature. When the bill was first approved in the Senate, it passed by a margin of only 13-11. This made it unlikely it would somehow gain additional votes to cross the two-thirds threshold in a second vote after the governor’s veto.

The one silver lining to this particular failure is that Lynch is not running for re-election this year. As a result there is a good chance that in 2013, New Hampshire will have a new governor who is more supportive of marijuana reform and likely to sign a medical marijuana law next year. The two top candidates in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, Jackie Cilley and Maggie Hassan, both voted for the medical marijuana bill in 2009 when they served in the state legislature.

Will they override that smile on his face?

In a disappointing but expected move yesterday, New Hampshire governor John Lynch vetoed a bill that would have legalized medical marijuana in the state. Lynch had vetoed a similar medical marijuana bill back in 2009.

This new bill, SB 409, would have allowed people with serious illness to get a doctor’s recommendation to use medical marijuana so they can then register with the state. From Governor Lynch’s office explaining why he issued his veto:

SB 409 authorizes a patient to cultivate and transport up to 6 ounces of marijuana at any given time, and to possess for their use up to 2 ounces of marijuana at any point in time. While the bill requires the patient to obtain a written certification from a physician attesting to their qualifying medical condition before the patient is eligible to obtain a registry card authorizing medicinal marijuana use, the bill does not contemplate any medical guidance by the certifying physician concerning the amount or frequency of marijuana use. This is a significant difference from the prescription and use of any other controlled drug, where the patient is given specific medical guidance on how much of a drug to take and how often to take it.

Given that there are many types of marijuana with different degrees of potency, I am concerned that the absence of restrictions on the amount and frequency of use of marijuana combined with the amounts allowed under the bill for possession could pose significant health dangers.

There is still chance that the bill could become law this year despite the veto. The state legislature can override the veto with a 2/3rd vote in both chambers. While in the House of Representatives the law should easily clear that threshold, it should face a more difficult time in the state Senate.

Fortunately, Gov Lynch is not seeking another term this year and there is a strong chance that the next governor will be more supportive of medical marijuana. The two top Democrats in the primary, Jackie Cilley and Maggie Hassan, both voted for the medical marijuana bill in 2009, which was eventually vetoed by Lynch.

New Hampshire State House (photo: Teemu008/flickr)

Yesterday the New Hampshire Senate approved a medical marijuana bill, SB409, in a vote of 13-11. From Boston Globe:

The New Hampshire Senate has passed a bill that would allow a home cultivation approach to medical marijuana, but Gov. John Lynch’s promised veto may be insurmountable.

The Senate passed legislation 13-to-11 Wednesday night to allow a patient with a “debilitating medical condition” or that patient’s designated caretaker to cultivate and possess up to six ounces of marijuana, four mature plants and 12 seedlings at a registered “cultivation location.” It would allow the patient or caregiver to possess two ounces elsewhere.