NORML board member Dr. Lester Grinspoon of Harvard Medical School and former New Haven, Connecticut Police Commissioner Nick Pastore testified before the New Hampshire legislature yesterday in favor of a pair of bills that would allow the use of medical marijuana, and decriminalize simple possession of the drug.
NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup, Esq. endorsed the legislative proposals. “People are tired of filling our jails and prisons with nonviolent marijuana smokers,” he said. “It is a positive sign that states like New Hampshire are beginning to take a serious look at reforming these laws, and debating decriminalization as a legitimate policy option.”
NORML coordinated witnesses for yesterday’s hearing and is working closely with Rep. Tim Robertson (D-Cheshire), primary sponsor of both bills, to lobby for the reform legislation. House Bill 87 proposes changing possession of less than one ounce of marijuana from a class A misdemeanor to a violation. House Bill 202 proposes legalizing the possession and cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes. Both bills await action from the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.
“I just think prohibition doesn’t work,” Robertson says. “Marijuana decriminalization is a subject we ought to be discussing in this country.”
For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup or Paul Armentano of NORML @ (202) 483-5500.