Monday’s presentation by top New Hampshire legislators was an overview of the legislative path for enacting a marijuana legalization law this session. This comes just days after a House panel approved a separate measure to allow medical cannabis home cultivation.
The House approved the legalization bill by Majority Leader Jason Osborne and Minority Leader Matthew Wilhelm late last month. It was sent to the Ways & Means Committee to be reviewed before being transmitted to the Senate.
Osborne spoke at a Monday committee hearing and described the compromises made to HB 639 in order for it to move through the Senate. Despite the House passing legalization bills repeatedly, broad cannabis reform has stalled in the Senate in recent sessions.
The majority leader stated that “I’m sure you realize that the House routinely adopts some type of bill like this every other year, and the other body routinely closes it down.” “We would like to see this completed all at once once and for all.”
He stated that the Senate would not have approved language to allow recreational users to grow their own cannabis or language to help them annul past convictions. These were therefore intentionally left out.
Osborne stated, “That’s an area that can be left for another time.”
The sponsor also mentioned that a major change was made to the legislation. Instead of creating a new commission, the existing Liquor Commission would be responsible for regulating the market. This body would be renamed to the Liquor and Cannabis Commission.
Members of the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Liquor Subcommittee spent weeks working on the proposal in a series of meetings . They went back and forth about a range of provisions and made amendments to the original measure, before it was finally moved to the floor and sent to Ways & Means.
A committee vote executive session was set for Wednesday. However, the chairman stated on Monday that members would first hold an open session to receive feedback from state agencies at a later time, probably next week. If the measure is approved by the panel, it will be moved to the floor for a second vote before possibly moving to the Senate.
Here’s HB639 as modified:
Adults aged 21 or older can purchase, possess, and gift up to 4 ounces of marijuana.
The Liquor and Cannabis Commission, now renamed, would be responsible to regulate the marijuana market and issue business licenses.
There wouldn’t be any state-imposed limit on the number or types of marijuana businesses that can be licensed.
Within 18 months of the law’s enactment, both the state Department of Health and Human Services and its commission will need to create regulations that allow existing medical cannabis dispensaries in order to apply for dual licenses so they can start serving adult customers.
The tax rate for cannabis growers would be 15% of their monthly gross income.
Eighty percent of tax revenues would be used to support an education trust fund. Ten percent would fund substance misuse treatment programs. Five percent would go towards localities with at least one operating retailer. Five percent (upto $1 million) would support public agencies such as police and fire departments.
Localities may restrict or ban marijuana businesses operating in their areas.
Workers who use marijuana on the job would have employment protections. A person who uses cannabis can’t get a professional or occupational license.
Companies that grow marijuana could deduct their business expenses from their state taxes.
John Hunt, Chairman of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee (Republican), spoke at Monday’s hearing about the process and the thinking behind the legislation. He explained why the bill proposes to tax cannabis at the cultivation level and not at the point of sale by consumers. Hunt stated that this would make enforcement easier, given the small number of licensed growers.
A discussion was held about the possibility of having to revise the tax structure if interstate cannabis commerce becomes legal.
The ACLU and Americans for Prosperity were two of the supporters who testified in support of the legislation. Opponents include New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police.
There is standalone legislation to allow registered patients to grow their own marijuana plants. It passed the House Health, Human Services and Elder Affairs Committee last week in a 19-1 vote.
Rep. Wendy Thomas (D) placed the bill on the consent calendar to allow House floor consideration without a minor report. It would allow patients or designated caregivers to grow up to three mature plants, three unmature plants, and twelve seedlings.
They must be grown in an enclosed, locked area at a location that is reported to the Department of Health and Human Services.
The amendment for HB 431 – the Therapeutic Cannabis Home-grow Bill has been drafted. The bill has been redrafted after we listened to the comments and combed it. #NHPolitics #Cannabis #HomeGrow pic.twitter.com/6o7dM5E824
— NH State Rep. Wendy E. N Thomas March 3, 2023
It is a great honor to be part of this team.
Let’s do this. @OmgEgan #NHCannabis Matt Simon
— NH State Rep. Wendy E. N Thomas March 3, 2023
The bill would allow the state to grow more cannabis for patients. It would increase the maximum number of mature plants allowed, as well as 160 immature plants and unlimited seedlings. The current limit is 80 plants and 160 seeds.
HB 431, my Therapeutic cannabis homegrow legislation has been passed by the committee with a vote 19 to 1 for OTP. It now goes to the House floor for a vote.
We are grateful to the cannabis village team for helping us get this done.
#NHPolitics #Cannabis #Woot pic.twitter.com/9scVxM445z— NH State Rep. Wendy E. N Thomas March 8, 2023
Only Rep. David Nagel (R), a member of the House panel voted against this proposal.
He disclosed that he is a member of the board for cannabis company Temescal Wellness NH and has faced significant criticism for comments he made to oppose a separate bill making severe pain a qualifying condition in medical marijuana.
Nagel stated during the February hearing that he has been “practicing painmanagement for more than 30 years” as well as “promoting for people’s access to a wide range of therapeutic modalities since over 30 years.”
He supported the idea of opioids being used to treat pain, but he also said that marijuana could be “really rotten” as a pain management tool for some patients and should not be used as a first-line treatment.
Temescal Wellness responds… https://t.co/KKGkAroF7g pic.twitter.com/6Pbp3v3IEd
— The Patient Perspective
(@nhcannapatient March 7, 2023
A tweet by Temescal Wellness, a New Hampshire patient advocate for medical cannabis, stated that the comments were made “personally and without any affiliation to the company”.
“We fundamentally disagree [with his commentary] and are addressing him,” is a screenshot of an email that appears to have been sent by the company.
Advocates still have a lot of work to do, despite optimism regarding the possibility that legalization will finally move in the Granite State this January.
After last year’s election, Republicans retained control of both the Senate and House. The Senate is where marijuana reform has encountered its most difficult obstacles in the past sessions, even though the House has approved numerous legalization bills. Two reform bills that were passed by the House last year were rejected by the Senate. One would have established a non-commercial cannabis program, while another would have allowed commerce to take place under a state-run model.
There were some shifts in the Senate that supported reform. A Democratic senator opposed to legalization was replaced by a Republican member of the House who voted for ending prohibition in his time as a House Member.
Gov. Gov. He stated that reform was possible, but that it would be difficult for states to implement.
After two reform bills were rejected by the Senate last year, the House added legalization language to separate criminal justice-related legislation. was also defeated in the opposing chamber.
The measure for non-commercial legalization that was defeated had been passed by the House under Democratic control, but was defeated at the committee stage in the Senate.
Separate bills were also filed by lawmakers to legalize marijuana on the state’s ballot in 2022, but they were rejected by the House.
Photo by Mike Latimer.
Marijuana Moment: Top New Hampshire Lawyers Outline Marijuana Legalization Plans, While Committee Advances Homes Grow for Patients was first published
