The Republican Governor of New Hampshire signed a bill creating a commission that will prepare legislation to legalize marijuana by way of a state-run store. This is a novel regulatory system that he supported this year, after concluding it was “inevitable”.
It comes two months after bipartisan and bicameral lawmakers in a conference panel reached agreement on incremental commission legislation.
In the bill, the conference committee only asked for a commission that would study the idea of state-run cannabis stores. This was a novel concept proposed by Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican who had previously opposed cannabis legalization, only recently supported the bill.
Before final passage, the bill was modified to include a directive for the commission to draft a legalization measure for state use that the legislators could consider in January when they reconvene to begin the second half session of their two-year term. The work of the commission is due on December 1.
Sununu , who spoke Tuesday, said that New Hampshire had an opportunity to regulate marijuana sales in a way few other states can. This bill, which establishes a commission that will study state-controlled marijuana sales, will bring together stakeholders from all over New Hampshire to ensure the prevention of negative effects on children remains our top priority.
John Hunt, the chairman of the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee (R), who was a conferee this year, worked on marijuana reform issues extensively. This included recent efforts to find a compromise in legislation that would legalize marijuana this year using a multi-tiered approach, which would include state controlled shops, dual licensing existing medical cannabis dispensaries, and private businesses licensed by state agencies.
Hunt’s panel reached an impasse over the complex legislation. This was after Sununu made a surprise announcement that he supported state-run legalization, and the Senate rejected a more conventional legalization bill passed by the House’s bipartisan leaders.
Sununu seems to be confident that his proposal for legalization will pass the Senate, but recent events raise some doubts about the lawmakers’ willingness to support the type of reform Sununu is promoting.
Last year, a bill to implement a state-run cannabis program passed the New Hampshire House. However, it was defeated unanimously in the Senate.
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The underlying legislation, which the Governor signed into law along with the provisions of the Legalization Study Commission, would also remove the requirement that patients in pain first try opioid-based treatment before they receive a recommendation for medical cannabis.
The law also clarifies that it is not intended for the state to allow the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived products such as delta-8THC.
In May, the House rejected a separate marijuana legalization bill that was proposed as part a Medicaid expansion measure.
The Senate also moved to introduce another piece of legislation in the same month, which would have allowed designated caregivers and patients to grow up to 12 seedlings, 3 immature plants, and three mature plants for their own therapeutic use.
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 rejected in the opposing chamber.
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The article New Hampshire Signs Bill to Create Marijuana Legalization Commission to Prepare State-Run Sale Model first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
