New Hampshire House Votes to Legalize Marijuana Possession and Cultivation

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UPDATE 01/09/18 1:30 PM Eastern: New Hampshire House Leadership, instead of sending the approved bill directly to the state Senate, has referred the legislation back to the House Ways and Means Committee. Now, either the committee declines to take action and sends the bill to the state Senate or holds hearings on the bill before sending it back to the House floor for another full vote.

This morning, in a direct rebuke to the bluster coming from US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted 207 to 139 in favor of a measure that would legalize the possession of up to 3/4 of an ounce of marijuana and the cultivation of 3 mature plants for adults 21 years of age or over. This legislation is similar to a measure passed by members of the House of Representatives in neighboring Vermont last week. Both measures now await action by their respective state Senates, with a vote in Vermont expected for later today.

A broader legalization bill, which included commercial cultivation and retail sales, was voted down in a New Hampshire House committee last November. Today, state Representatives voted to overturn that initial vote and amended that legislation to only include the legalization of personal possession and cultivation. Currently, there is a standing legislative study committee in the state that is researching and reviewing the potential of legalized commercial marijuana in New Hampshire and is expected to give recommendations later this year.

“Despite the best attempts by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Department of Justice to intimidate state governments, the recent votes in Vermont and New Hampshire demonstrate that legislators are ignoring this bluster and are standing up for the will of the people,” said NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri, “An overwhelming majority of Americans want to see marijuana legalized and their elected officials are smartly siding with this broad public opinion and sensible policy direction over the Reefer Madness being spouted by Attorney General Sessions.”

NORML will keep you updated as these and other legislative reform efforts advance.

TAKE ACTION IN SUPPORT OF MARIJUANA REFORM LEGISLATION IN YOUR STATE HERE.

27 thoughts

  1. HAHA! GREAT NEWS! And unexpected! More states should follow suit!

    Could this be the end of Prohibition starting?

    WONDERFUL!

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    1. and I realize we should not be too optimistic just yet, as the movement is still in grave danger following Jan. 4th and with Jan. 19th, but, still, this is great news.

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      2. Matt,
        Federal law as it stands today cannot stop New Hampshire, Vermont or any states from deciding how to legislate its own state criminal law. Thats a tested fact of the 10th amendment.

        The threat from the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment means even medical dispensaries can get shut down using our own tax dollars. The threat from Sessions reversing the Cole memos is that a US attorney could potentially hold their state’s dispensary application in felony contempt of court.

        Neither of these events are likely to happen before Vermont legalizes legislatively, which is one of the key turning points in Federal courts and the War on Drugs.

    2. After total legalization I would like to see the Cannabis Cup we are Growers compete against each other this bud’s for you America

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  2. WTF?!

    Go New Hampshire!

    Eric, Justin, Kevin; Did any of you see this coming? New Hampshire was like pulling teeth just to get decrim. Now theyre in for full cultivation and a legal market?

    So Vermont and New Hampshire are simultaneously passing the legislatively enacted joint? It’s like getting two birds stoned at once! Keep passin it New England!

    I’m getting good, good feelings about Texas in November of this year and January 2019… Better than a NORML curved paper on top of the Hill Country. (Which, by the way, those papers are awesome! No more runs in my joint!) We gotta get organized and keep passin the good stuff. Good work New Hampshire!

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    1. lol, all this momentum is like the TOS Star Trek episode when the Klingons seize The Enterprise engine room and collectively chant VICTORY! VICTORY! Swords raised high.

      Star Trek “stealing Enterprise” music from The Search For Spock” playing as legalization takes off from Prohibition Bay, lol.

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      1. Matt,
        While I am a self-identified marijuana-nerd, I must admit I only remember what a Klingon looks like. I wrote one Monty Python script on an earlier post, I’ll give you that, but otherwise you’ll have to forgive my lack of Trekkie repertoire. I can at least imagine a bunch of Klingons taking over the engine room, but I would sooner compare that to a Trump administration taking over the White House.
        I remember watching The Next Generation when Patrick Stewart held the helm. He played a great King Lear on stage. Trump could be King Lear if Shakespeare wrote he went mad from the finasteride in his hair loss prevention drug, propaceia.
        Here are the Cliffnotes:

        https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/k/king-lear/play-summary

        I can’t tell whether Pence or Sessions play a better fool pleading with the King as he is used to shield the King from the cold headwinds as he escapes on horseback from his children’s plot against the throne.

      3. Everyone should get stoned in a van passing a joint while singing to Miller’s “The Joker” at least once in life.

    2. Unfortunately, it has almost no chance to pass the Senate and even if it does, Gov. Sununu says he is opposed to it, no surprise there. Stupid too, we’ll just go across the border to Mass come July. NH has a great idea, legal and you can grow your own, no retail to speak of. You’d think that would satisfy anyone but the reefer madness continues. Their argument is that with an opioid crisis legalizing weed would be bad but in reality it would let peole choose a less dangerous recreational drug no one has ever overdosed on.
      they just don’t get it yet and it’s maddening. You should be able to grow a plant, period!

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  3. The bill will permit possession of 3/4 of an ounce and the cultivation of up to 3 plants. What happens if your plants yield more than 3/4 of an ounce? How does this work in other states that permit people to grow their own but have possession limits?

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    1. I doubt if law enforcement is going to come knocking on your door with a scale in hand. Probably nobody’s counting, just looks good on paper to have a limit.

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    2. For right now, and, respectfully to you…

      who cares?

      Once it is legal, we can worry about all that. The mistake Ohio made.

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      1. the mistake Ohio made was not just legalizing it in the first place, THEN addressing the monopoly problem.

    3. I think this is actually a very good question. Since it is possible to get a full pound or more from a single plant, and you’re allowed to grow 3 plants, that could put the grower way over the 3/4 ounce limit!

      That said, I think that the way it would be enforced is that as long as the possession is within your home having more than 3/4 ounce won’t be a problem. However, if you are out and about with more than 3/4 ounces on your person, then you could be in trouble.

      Someone out there please correct me if I am wrong.

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    4. You can keep what’s over 3/4 oz. in the location you grew it at, like in your house and you can give away 3/4 oz to another adult. Three flowering plants and three non flowering plants is the proposal, which will never pass I’m sure. It’s crazy, so much fuss over a plant, live free or die my butt!

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  5. Good on New Hampshire, and Vermont as well. Extend that middle finger to Trump/Sessions despotism.

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  6. Good initiative, Medical marijuana should be legalized as it will only help people suffering from life-threatening diseases. Hopefully, other states will follow the legalization process.

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  7. EXCELLENT NEWS!!! I’m moving back to NJ which is soon to be legalized. I will have a job I love and be in a place of diversity. I will be able to consume Cannabis in all forms. The south really isn’t making much progress. Let the Keebler Elf Sessions ROT

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  8. The Cannabist reports a “pissible delay” in the Vermont Senate on the marijuana vote, but thats only referring to this afternoon:

    http://www.thecannabist.co/2018/01/10/vermont-marijuana-recreational-senate-vote/96455/

    This still looks like a bill being signed on the Governor’s desk before the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment renewal deadline in 9 days;

    http://www.norml.org/act

    Meanwhile a climactic marijuana court case heats up in Washington v. Sessions:

    https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/22047318/Washington_et_al_v_Sessions_et_al

    There will be oral arguments on Jan. 14th. Sessions is being sued by retired NFL player Marvin Washington, 12-year-old Alexis Bortell among others claiming violation of their 1st, 4th, 5th, 10th and 14th amendment rights.

    Can a NORML member attend the oral arguments in this court? Or is there one already?

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      1. Come to think if it I’ve had a few “pissable delays” just trying to get to a party or a concert sober… another unsung benefit of marijuana’s alternative to alcohol…

  9. Please don’t frame this as a rebuke of Sessions, the legislature is starting to piss their pants because they are about to lose the “NH advantage”. People will use less alcohol now that cannabis is legal in Maine, Mass, and Vermont. Hence they won’t be traveling here to get booze and smokes.

    They are being dragged along because they know they are about to lose big time. Live free or die my ass.

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  10. Sununu said he wouldn’t sign the bill. Lol this is NH we are talking about. Its a shit hole. This is why young adults don’t stay here after highschool. Its a state for old people and bad accents.

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