Surrounded on four sides by legalized cannabis, New Hampshire is a hold out of cannabis prohibition in the Northeastern United States — but Democratic state Rep. Robert "Renny" Cushing, said it's about time things changed.
"I think New Hampshire is poised to end its position of being an island of prohibition in a sea of states that allow for adult, recreational use of cannabis," Cushing told Cheddar.
The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee of the New Hampshire House of Representatives approved a bill last week that would legalize cannabis use, gifting, and growing for all adults 21 years old and up. The bill does not approve a commercial framework for sales of the plant. A full vote on the bill in the state's House of Representatives is expected on February 6.
"For two decades now, there's been a fight going on in the state of New Hampshire to try to end this crazy war on cannabis," Cushing said. "Unfortunately, we've had a lot of resistance and pushback, primarily from the law enforcement community and our political leaders."
New Hampshire legalized a limited medical marijuana program in 2013, and in 2017, lawmakers passed a bill to decriminalize low level cannabis possession by replacing misdemeanor charges with fines. But progress has been slow and difficult. Those opposed to expanded legalization efforts worry about burdening law enforcement, emboldening the illicit cannabis market, and increasing exposure to children, New Hampshire Magazine reported.
Last year, New Hampshire's Republican Gov. Chris Sununu cited some of those reasons in his decision to veto a bill that sought to permit limited home grow for medical cannabis patients.
"This bill would bypass those public health and safety guardrails and make the job of law enforcement significantly more difficult. Furthermore, it could serve to undermine the protections we have built within the Alternative Treatment Center system by making those facilities less sustainable," the Republican governor said in a statement at the time.
Asked whether an adult use bill might face similar prospects if it makes it through the state legislature, Cushing said he couldn't be sure but said that the bipartisan coalition of supporters he is building in the state legislature might help matters.
As for those lawmakers and law enforcement still not convinced of his argument, Cushing's message was clear.
"Times change," he said. "I grew up in a dry town where alcohol wasn't sold and gambling wasn't allowed. Nowadays, we have liquor stores on our interstate highway in New Hampshire and what we used to call felony bookmaking we now call Powerball. The world is changing and New Hampshire should get in step with it and stop making a criminal out of people who just enjoy using a plant."
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