The GOP-controlled New Hampshire House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill to legalize marijuana possession and personal cultivation for adults. Members passed the legislation, sponsored by Rep. Carol McGuire (R), in a 241-113 vote. This comes one day after the chamber narrowly rejected a separate, broader legalization proposal that would have regulated commercial production and sales. The approved measure that is now advancing to the Senate will not allow cannabis commerce, but adults 21 and older would be allowed to possess and give away up to three-fourths of an ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants, three of which could be mature. The bill is virtually identical to an earlier version that also passed the House under Democratic control in 2020. The previous bill died in the Senate committee. “It is not—and never has been—the job of government to try to protect you from hurting yourself,” Rep. Max Abramson (R) said ahead of Thursday’s vote. “And outside of the 1950s B horror movies, it has never been the job of government to protect you from a plant.” Under the measure, there are penalties for public consumption, violating restrictions on home cultivation such as by growing in a publicly visible space and extracting cannabis in a dangerous manner. “This is truly a bipartisan issue with strong and wide support from Granite Staters,” Rep. Mark Warden (R) said. “The war on cannabis is a war on people. Those people are our neighbors and our constituents.” New Hampshire lawmakers have had their pick of marijuana reform legislation, with at least six new cannabis legalization proposals having been recently filed for the 2022 session. On Wednesday, the chamber defeated one bill that would have established a retail market for adult-use cannabis.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 01/06/2022 11:17:00