New Hampshire legislators have pre-filed 12 marijuana-related bills in preparation for the legislative session of 2024. These include measures to legalize cannabis for adults, cancel prior convictions, increase the number of conditions that qualify for the state’s program for medical purposes, as well as increasing possession limits and allowing home cultivation for caregivers and patients.
Ten of the 12 bills were pre-filed in the past week, following two others–regarding home grow for patients and eating disorders as qualifying conditions, respectively–earlier this month.
One lawmaker told Marijuana Moment in an interview earlier this month that the pre-filed legislation included some proposals from what he described as “sorta a mini therapeutic marijuana caucus.”
Rep. Wendy Thomas, a medical marijuana user herself, who is also undergoing cancer treatment, has formed a group with fellow Democrats Reps. Suzanne Vail, and Heath Howard. She said that in an interview, “We have brainstormed some ideas for bills. We are supporting each other bills and we will testify on behalf of each other.”
Thomas is the primary sponsor of two bills that have been filed. One would allow patients to grow cannabis at home with their caregivers and to keep up to 8 ounces. The other would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to any patient who has a terminal or debilitating condition.
Howard’s bills would, on the other hand, double the current limits of possession and purchases for patients and caregivers, and add generalized anxiety as a qualifying condition. Vail’s legislation would prevent medical marijuana patients being fired for a simple positive drug test. It also reduces criminal penalties when patients or caregivers sell unlicensed cannabis to adults who are not authorized.
The pre-filed legislation includes two separate measures for legalization–one which would allow regulated sales to commercial entities and another which would only allow cultivation, possession and giving among adults. However, it does not include any bill similar to what a 19 member committee discussed in depth in recent months to make recommendations on how to legalize cannabis through a state-run store.
The members eventually revised the proposal to create a private retailer franchise system under the supervision of the state. However, the commission failed to come up with a consensus following a series of meetings that went nowhere and the Governor’s last-minute demands. Chris Sununu, (R).
The group did not vote to endorse the proposed legislation, but the number of bills already filed suggests that lawmakers are still eager to tackle marijuana reforms.
These are the bills that have been introduced by lawmakers so far, ahead of a legislative sessions which begins in January:
- This bill, sponsored by Rep. Suzanne Vail and three other Democrats, prohibits employers from refusing or terminating employment with a patient who is a medical marijuana patient in the state “solely based on a positive test.”
- This Republican-led measure to legalize marijuana would allow adults over 21 to possess up three quarters an ounce cannabis, up to five grams of hashish, and certain other infused products. They could also grow up to six plants to use for themselves. Adults would be able to give marijuana to another adult, but commercial sales will remain illegal. The $100 fine for smoking or vaping in the public is a punishment for those who do so. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Carol McGuire, R. and eight other legislators, including two Democrats.
- This bill, sponsored by Democrats, would regulate and legalize the possession, sale and use of marijuana for adults over 21. The state Liquor Commission will regulate the commercial industry. Existing medical marijuana dispensaries (also known as Alternative Treatment Centers in New Hampshire) can register as separate businesses to engage in adult use. Municipalities would be able to limit the hours, places and ways in which cannabis establishments operate. The state Department of Health and Human Services, which is sponsored by Rep. Daniel Eaton and three other lawmakers, would also receive funding “to create public-media and social media campaigns that address some of marijuana’s risks.”
- This bill is sponsored by Rep. Wendy Thomas and four other members of the House. It would grant qualified immunity to registered patients who are using therapeutic marijuana and their caregivers. They could grow three mature plants, three immature and twelve seedlings. The registered therapeutic marijuana patients and their caregivers could keep up to 8 ounces of useable marijuana.
- This proposal, sponsored jointly by Rep. Heath Howard and six other Democrats in the House, would add eating disorders to a list of conditions that qualify for cannabis therapy.
- The bill is another measure by Thomas. It would add “any debilitating, terminal, or severe medical condition, or symptom, for which, in the clinical opinion of the provider, the benefits of therapeutic cannabis likely outweigh any potential risks to the patient.”
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- HB 1295 This measure, a Democratic-led bill, from Vail, and six other states, amends criminal penalties for the sale of marijuana by patients or caregivers to a person who isn’t a patient or caregiver. It repeals a specific criminal offence that was imposed on those who sold marijuana to someone who wasn’t a patient or caregiver. The proposal’s impact would depend on the amount sold. However, it would reduce current penalties for amounts less than one ounce.
- HB1349 This proposal, another bill from Howard would add generalized anxious disorder to the list of conditions that qualify for therapeutic cannabis in California. The bill has five co-sponsors including one Republican.
- HB1350 This bill is another one sponsored by Howard. It would double the amount of medical marijuana that registered medical marijuana patients or caregivers could possess, from 2 ounces to 4 ounces. The purchase limits will also double, from 2 ounces every 10 days to 4 ounces maximum per 10 day. Four other Democratic senators have also co-sponsored the proposal.
- This bill from Rep. Jonah Wheeler, D, and three other lawmakers would cancel all convictions and arrests relating to cannabis misdemeanors, or violations, within six months after it takes effect. It would also state that no prosecutor can charge a person under 21 for “purposefully obtaining, buying, transporting or possessing” less than 2 ounces or 5 grams of hash, or whatever amount is legal at a later date. People who are still serving their sentences can also ask a court to resentence them.
- Senate Bill 180 — A measure from Senator Kevin Avard and two other Republicans. This measure would prohibit sales of hemp-derived goods that contain more THC than 0.03 percent, a limit ten times higher than federal THC limitations. This measure would apply to delta-8-THC and other cannabinoid variants. The state’s Therapeutic Cannabis Oversight Board could also regulate and review educational materials and product labels for medical marijuana.
- Senate Bill 357 This bipartisan legislation, led by Senator Rebecca Whitley, and co-sponsored by 11 lawmakers (two Republican senators, two Democratic members of Congress) expands the list of people who are able to certify as medical marijuana patients, and to “prescribe” marijuana under the therapeutic cannabis program of New Hampshire.
Thomas told Marijuana Moment, that no matter what happens next year in terms of adult-use legalization she and other are focused on continuing to make “small but consistently good progress” in the therapeutic program. She believes even those who oppose broader reforms can appreciate its value.
Thomas has said that since taking office she has introduced bills to increase the number ATCs and dispensaries in the state. This is to make it easier for patients and caregivers to access medical cannabis. Thomas said that she is aware of three medical cannabis patients in New Hampshire’s 400 member House of Representatives, who plan to speak out about their experience.
She said that cannabis has helped her to stop using opioids entirely, a result she’s also seen in other people. Thomas also helped a veteran with PTSD who was so severe that he could not go to Walmart.
The lawmaker said that “he came back to the office the following week and told me, ‘My whole life has changed.'”
Thomas personally supports a model of legalization for adults which supports small, handmade businesses, similar to the Maine cannabis law. She added that if New Hampshire allows marijuana to be used by adults in a broader sense, she still wants the therapeutic program kept.
In a recent local TV interview, Sen. Rebecca Whitley (D), who is the sponsor of a bill that would allow DEA-registered pharmacists to “prescribe marijuana” to patients – and the elected official of the state legalization committee that appeared to be most supportive of legalization – said that 74 per cent of New Hampshire residents wanted to see marijuana legalized. “I think that we have an obligation from our constituents to do that,” she added.
The DEA’s proposal is not clear yet. It may face the same pushback from the federal agency as the pharmacists registered with the DEA in Georgia faced late last month, when they were warned dispensing cannabis according to the state Board of Pharmacy might jeopardize DEA registration.
Sununu’s list of demands was the deal-breaker for many members of the New Hampshire Legalization Commission. The commission had already been at odds going into the final meeting. The governor stated that he would only support 15 licensed marijuana retail outlets in the state and that he wanted to include provisions prohibiting cannabis businesses from lobbying or contributing to political campaigns.
Thomas told the Governor that “people want cannabis in the United States. He’s playing an extremely difficult game.”
Sununu has stated that the legalization of marijuana is “inevitable”. However, he “is not a big believer”.
Some have suggested that the Republican Governor has his sights set on federal office.
One drug proposal, which has not yet been unveiled, is a Republican- – requested, by Rep. Kevin Verville. It relates to “the therapeutic use of psychedelics.”
Rep. John Hunt, a Republican who served as the chairperson of the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee in this year’s session, has worked on marijuana reform for a long time. He tried to find a compromise by enacting legalization via a system with multiple levels, including state-controlled shops, businesses licensed privately to individuals and existing medical cannabis dispensaries.
Hunt’s House committee, however has reached an impasse over the complex legislation. This was after Sununu announced that he actually supported state-run legalization. The Senate , however, defeated a more traditional legalization bill, called HB 639, in spite of its bipartisan support.
In May, the House rejected a different marijuana-legalization amendment which was proposed as part a Medicaid expansion measure. In the same month, the Senate moved to introduce an earlier version Thomas’s legislation on home cultivation.
After the Senate rejected reform legislation in 2022 the House included legalization as an amendment to separate criminal-justice-related legislation, but this was also struck down by the opposing chamber.
Missouri expunges 100,000 cannabis offenses in first year of legalization, even as some courts miss deadline
Photo by Philip Steffan.
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