Concord, NH: Members of the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted 16 to 2 on Thursday in favor of legislation to reduce marijuana possession penalties to a civil infraction.
As amended, House Bill 1653 would reduce the penalties for minor marijuana possession offenses (up to 1/4 of one ounce) from a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine to a nominal monetary penalty of no more than $200.00.
The measure now awaits action from the full House.
To date, 13 states have decriminalized the possession of marijuana for personal use.
For more information, please visit: http://nhcommonsense.org, or visit NORML’s ‘Take Action Center’ at: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/.