New Hampshire Senate rejects marijuana legalization bill passed by the House

New Hampshire Senate rejected a House passed bill to legalize cannabis.

The Senate Judiciary Committee had recommended against the measure just two days earlier. On Thursday, the entire chamber voted down the measure by a margin of 14-10.

After the Tuesday committee vote, Senate Majority leader Sharon Carson (R), predicted that the legislation proposed by bipartisan House leaders will fail at the floor. Recently, the governor expressed his opposition to reform.

HB 639 was one of many cannabis bills to pass through the House during this session. This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to declare a measure to allow medical cannabis patients to grow their own marijuana at home and a bill to legalize non-commercial marijuana as “inefficient to legislate.”

However, advocates focused their attention on HB 639 which was sponsored by House Minority Leader Matthew Wilhelm and House Majority leader Jason Osborne. Early hopes were that increased pressure on the Senate to pass reforms, along with certain changes in the Senate following the recent election, would make passage easier. This path has been blocked yet again.

On Thursday, there was a lengthy floor discussion about the impact of legalization on other states. Members shared mixed evidence regarding how the reform impacts traffic safety, youth use and health-related concerns.

William Gannon, a Republican senator, spoke against the bill. He said that the state should not “sell the future of New Hampshire’s youth for money as Judas sold Jesus out for a few shiny coins.” Gannon also stated that lawmakers would “share the same regret” as Judas if they legalized marijuana.

Becky Whitley, a Democratic senator, also spoke out in support of the reform. She said, “This is yet another debate we have had every year, despite the fact that the will of Granite Staters was crystal clear to the body.” Granite Staters want New Hampshire to legalize cannabis.”

She said, “New Hampshire can’t let another year pass without legalizing cannabis for adults.” “Cannabis prohibition has failed. It has destroyed families, wasted precious resources, and made it impossible to implement important health and safety rules that control when, where and to whom cannabis can be sold.

The Senate previously refused to pass two reform bills passed by the House last year . One of them would have created an non-commercial cannabis program, and another would have allowed commerce on a state-run basis.

This is what HB639 could have achieved:

Adults aged 21 or older could have purchased, possessed and gifted up to four ounces cannabis.

The newly renamed Liquor and Cannabis Commission was responsible for the regulation of the marijuana market and granting business licenses.

No statewide limit would have been placed on the number marijuana businesses that can be licensed.

The state Department of Health and Human Services and the commission were required to create regulations within 18 months of the enactment of this law to allow existing medical cannabis dispensaries apply for dual licensing to begin serving adult consumers.

Wholesale cannabis products would have been subject to a tax of 12.5% of their value.

After covering the costs for legalization, $100,000 in revenue could have been used to fund data collection and report on the health effects of cannabis prohibition and regulation.

The remaining funds would have gone to fund substance abuse programs, hire and train experts in drug recognition, and support children’s mental health services.

Localities would not have been allowed limit or prohibit marijuana businesses in their area.

State or local government employees who used marijuana outside of work would have had employment protections. Cannabis use could not be used to deny or withdraw professional and occupational licenses.

Marijuana businesses could have deducted their business expenses from state taxes.

No provisions were made to allow cannabis cultivation at home or to annul previous convictions.

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A spokesperson for Governor. Chris Sununu, a Republican, said they “were not aware of any legalization amendement.”

Osborne, who is the GOP sponsor of HB639, has recently hinted that he would be willing to delay Senate-passed legislation that sits in his chamber if Senators continue “kicking the can further down the road” with marijuana reform.

Majority Leader @Osborne4NH, on the increasingly precarious future of the House Cannabis Legalization Bill now in @TheNHSenate : “… there are a number of Senate bills currently in the House & it would a shame to see them go.” #NHPolitics #WMUR pic.twitter.com/6ivDfYv4yb

Adam Sexton 8 May 2023 HTML0

Sununu is still opposed to marijuana legalization, and said last week that it should be pushed to the back burner in favor of other drug policy goals. However, his tone has softened on this issue. He said in a debate last year that legalization could be inevitable, but he also added that states should “be patient” about the process.

After the Senate rejected the two separate legalization bills that were introduced last year, the House added legalization language to a separate criminal justice related legislation. But this was also rejected in the other chamber .