The New Hampshire commission, tasked with submitting a report on December 1 regarding how to legalize adult use marijuana sales via a novel state-controlled system, held a marathon session on Thursday. It finished its line-byline review of the 37-page draft of bill circulated by Sen. Daryl Abbas, (R) last month.
The group has one more meeting before the deadline for the commission, and now it must incorporate the feedback of the members into a revised bill draft that the legislature could consider adopting during the 2024 session. The group must also create a report that reflects the wildly divergent views of the 19 members of the panel. Some of them have expressed their opposition to the legalization of marijuana despite being asked to make recommendations on how to achieve this.
After more than five-hours of discussion, Debra Naro, executive director for the nonprofit Communities for Alcohol- and Drug-Free Youth, said, “This is irresponsible and dangerous legislation I have ever been involved in.” It’s disappointing because it will increase addiction and death.
Abbas reminded the members, who at times struggled during the meetings to keep order, that the direction of the commission is to bring forward legislation to legalize marijuana, regardless of what the individual members feel about the morality of this issue. He noted that in the past he had “done so much to defeat cannabis legislation”, but he seemed to reject Naro’s advice.
Abbas stated, “The reefer madness we are talking about has already arrived.” “I see it every day. Even when I walk outside, I can smell it. This commission’s job is to draft legislation, right? “That’s exactly what we’re doing here.”
This panel was originally formed in the summer of this year to examine state-run stores. A model that is supported by Governor. Chris Sununu’s (R) plan would be similar to how the state currently handles liquor sales. In September, members began to consider an alternative system that would be a franchise-style model. The state would oversee the look and feel of the industry, while private licensees handle the cultivation and retail sales.
The majority of recent commission meetings has been devoted to a sometimes meandering examination of Abbas’s draft legislation. It is dated 2 October and Abbas’s staff originally described it to Marijuana Moment in the last month as “extremely flexible” and meant only as a reference point.
Abbas stated that he hopes a revised version of the draft will be available to review before the final meeting of the committee, scheduled for November 27. He did not provide a timetable for the distribution of the changes.
“Now, remember, I am relying on notes,” he said. “And if you disagree with anything in there, please let me know.”
Abbas, as well as the other legislators who presided over Thursday’s meeting, stressed that any bill proposed by the commission must still be presented, debated, modified and voted upon by lawmakers in January. The decisions already discussed by the commission will undergo a “proctological review” once the legislative sessions begin in January.
“Our goal is a bill that has ideas about what we want, and as much detail we can get to where we can reach consensus,” said Sen. Timothy Lang. Lang chaired Thursday’s morning session during which Abbas wasn’t present. “And where we don’t have consensus, we can do a majority report and a minority report for that section.”
Despite the fact that the meeting lasted more than five-hours, key members of the panel left the room for a few minutes during the discussion. Lang had to leave to catch a plane before the panel paused for lunch. This left Sen. Rebecca Whitley to preside over the meeting. Whitley then excused herself from the meeting to pick her child up after Abbas returned as chair, following the lunch break.
Before lunch had even finished, some of the members were already leaving. Whitley, the person who was in charge of the meeting said that we were losing members rapidly. It doesn’t seem right to me that we continue to do this without a critical mass.
The panel has been divided on many issues, including the penalties for public consumption and the science surrounding cannabis-impaired driving. The commission is unlikely to reach a consensus on either topic.
In the case of public consumption, which was the main topic of discussion during the commission’s tense meeting last week, the more conservative members have called for harsh criminal penalties. Some even support a misdemeanor charge and mandatory prison time. Whitley, a member of the ACLU and others have opposed the creation of new criminal penalties as part a bill that aims to roll back the drug-war.
Whitley, who was chairing the meeting, appeared to have reached consensus on impaired driving before lunch. A THC blood level would be set, but it wouldn’t be a limit that drivers could be automatically considered impaired. John Bryfonski of the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police suggested that the blood level should be taken into consideration along with other factors, including driving behavior and a driver’s interaction between officers.
The doctor, who Abbas had assigned to do more research on cannabis and impaired driving, and THC blood levels, informed the group that “the overall tone” of the material she studied was “that it’s been found there is no correlation between the level of intoxication and impairment, and the THC concentration in the blood.”
Kimberly Youngren is a professor and pain management specialist at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine.
Bryfonski, of the Police Chiefs’ Association and ACLU representative Frank Knaack both agreed that using THC blood tests to determine impairment was not a science clear enough to charge someone with DUI.
Knaack stated that “there’s no magic figure, and I believe that’s the issue.”
The apparent agreement was again the subject of discussion after Abbas returned to the scene in the afternoon. He insisted on a justification for the level that the panel had set.
He said: “I am 215 pounds. How many edibles would I need to consume for a person of 215 pounds at 5 nanograms of THC per microliter blood? This is what I am trying to understand.”
“Mr. “Mr. “I do not think that we should be caught up in levels.” He said.
Bryfonski added, “There is still a wide range of science regarding impairment caused by different levels of THC.”
The Commission skipped over roughly two pages that dealt with non-discrimination issues around marijuana use. For example, whether evidence of consumption can be used to deny professional licensure or child custody.
Whitley, the person who presided over the meeting, stated that at least two state agencies would need to be consulted before any changes are made in relation to marijuana. She and others noted that some provisions appeared to be in conflict with federal law requirements as well as state policy.
She questioned whether the majority of this section was necessary. “I believe the issue of nondiscrimination to be important, but I don’t think we should interfere with current law.”
The health policy advocacy group New Futures suggested that the Justice Reinvestment Fund be included in the draft bill. This was added to the draft at the meeting on Thursday. Kate Frey’s testimony on Thursday to the commission noted that this measure was initially to be included in a previous legalization plan but “never got to print.”
Frey said that the Justice Reinvestment Fund seemed to support the pro-legalization position at the time the discussion was taking place, but it “seems to have fallen by the side.”
The commission also discussed taxes on cannabis for adult use and medical marijuana. These taxes would be assessed by a 15 percent fee of the franchisee’s revenues under the draft bill.
Naro of CADY said that the tax rate should be much higher, up to 30 percent, in order to discourage cannabis use. Joseph Mollica is the chair of the New Hampshire Liquor Commission which will oversee the legalization of marijuana in New Hampshire under the draft legislation. He said that the rate set at 15 percent was to ensure that the venture would be profitable for the state and competitive with neighboring States.
He said that no one in the Liquor Commission wanted to harm anyone. “We feel that 15 percent is a reasonable amount to allow us to sell the product at a better price than the surrounding states, and still be a profitable venture for the state.”
Lang ended the discussion by saying that the issue will be decided by the legislature. Lang noted that lawmakers last term estimated that legalization could lead to gross sales of about $250 million, which would result $37.5 million new state revenue.
The commission also discussed issues such as zoning and buffer zones around schools and places of worship, warnings labels and guidelines that retailers will need to include in every purchase, funding of law enforcement, the annulment of previous cannabis convictions, and public education on potential health risks of marijuana use.
Members heard from the State Treasurer Monica Mezzapelle, (D), a presentation on cannabis-related banking before moving onto Thursday’s draft legislation. Members expressed concern about the state collecting revenue from marijuana sales, despite federal prohibition. This was especially true given New Hampshire’s unique role in marketing franchised stores.
She said the issue of receiving marijuana money was nothing new, as every other state that has legalized the drug a href=”https://www.marijuanamoment.net/maryland-is-craftily-coding-marijuana-tax-revenue-in-obscure-terms-to-protect-wells-fargo-tax-official-says/” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>has faced similar challenges/a> She explained that the problem of marijuana revenue was not new as other states have faced the same challenges .
She said that at the federal government, a bill on marijuana banking “is making headway”. Advocates are confident about its passage.
Ryan Hale, a member of the panel who represents the New Hampshire Bankers Association said that, in terms of liabilities, Gov. Sununu’s original plan to run state-run stores would have increased the liability of the state. The franchise model, however, represented a “lower level” of risk.
The final issue discussed at the meeting on Thursday was the regulation of existing medical marijuana dispensaries in New Hampshire, also known as alternative treatment centres (ATCs). The final details of the plan are not yet clear. However, it appears that the state Liquor Commission will take over the regulation of existing medical marijuana dispensaries, known in New Hampshire as alternative treatment centers (ATCs).
Commission members also suggested that they would allow all licensed retail stores to sell both medical and adult-use marijuana products.
Matt Simon, director of public relations and government affairs at medical marijuana provider GraniteLeaf Cannabis told Marijuana Moment that they had agreed on an “high-level concept” which could work. This was in a Marijuana Moment interview conducted after the meeting. What we didn’t discuss was the larger question of whether therapeutic marijuana sales would be exempted from the franchise fee, or whether medical products will be taxed.
Simon stated that this was “one of the elephants” in the room. If you want to kill a therapeutic program, this is the way to go. Make patients pay the same fees-included price. Patients will want a lower pricing point than nonpatients.
(Disclosure – Simon supports Marijuana Moment via a Patreon monthly pledge.
He said that he, like others who followed the discussion of the commission, is looking forward to receiving a revised version of the draft bill. He said that they are still using the 10/2 draft and have not updated it once during the entire process.
He said that the meeting of the commission had made some progress but left many questions unanswered. We’re all eager to see an updated draft, so that we can provide more specific comments and get a better idea of the direction things are going.
The eventual introduction of the legalization bill in New Hampshire’s legislative body is not clear. Simon believes that the bill will be introduced in the Senate and referred to the Judiciary Committee.
Commissioners, under the legislation which created the study group were given the task of studying the feasibility and drafting legislation for a cannabis state model.
- allows the state to control access and distribution
- Keep marijuana out of the schools and away from children
- Control the marketing and messaging for the sale of marijuana
- Prohibit “marijuana Miles” or oversaturation in marijuana retail establishments
- Municipalities can choose whether to restrict or prohibit marijuana retail establishments
- Multi-drug abuse is reduced
- Has no additional tax to stay competitive
Rep. John Hunt, a Republican who served as the chairperson of the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee in this year’s session, spent a lot of time working on marijuana reform during the session and tried to find a compromise for legalization by implementing a system with multiple levels, including state-controlled shops and dual licensing, which would allow existing medical cannabis dispensaries to continue operating, and private businesses licensed to individuals privately by state agencies.
Hunt’s House committee, however, came to a deadlock on the complex legislation that was being considered after Sununu made his surprise announcement about his support for state-run legalization. The Senate , however, defeated a more traditional legalization bill, called HB 639 despite bipartisan support.
The legalization study provisions in the underlying legislation of the commission that was signed into law by the governor would also remove the requirement that patients with 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 rejecting reform bills in 2022 by the Senate, the House added legalization language to separate criminal justice legislation–but this was also rejected in the opposing chamber .
Read in full the draft legislation which was discussed on Thursday:
Congressional researchers flag legal liabilities for banks that work with marijuana businesses while reform bill lingers in Senate
Photo by Philip Steffan.
The article New Hampshire Marijuana Commission members are divided on key issues ahead of the December 1 deadline to propose a bill first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
