On June 20, the University of New Hampshire published the poll results of its numerous state topics such as Gov. Chris Sununu’s job performance, housing as the most important problem statewide, and cannabis legalization.

Recently, a cannabis legalization bill (House Bill 1633) which was rejected by legislators in a 178-173 vote on June 13. To date, it was the only bill to have made such progress in New Hampshire. If passed, it would have legalized adult-use cannabis by 2026, established possession restrictions, permitted up to 15 “franchises” to sell cannabis, and set the tax rate at 15%.

Despite HB-1633’s failure to pass on to Sununu’s desk, New Hampshire residents still show strong support for legalization.  “Despite broad public support, a bipartisan compromise to legalize recreational marijuana in the state was tabled by the New Hampshire House of Representatives, effectively killing the bill for this legislative session,” the report stated. “Two-thirds (65%) of Granite Staters strongly (45%) or somewhat (20%) support legalizing marijuana for recreational use, 19% are strongly (11%) or somewhat (8%) opposed, 15% are neutral on the issue, and less than 1% are unsure.”

It also mentioned that support for adult-use cannabis legalization decreased from 72% in May 2023 to 65% in 2024 and attributed this change to a decrease in support by Independents and Republicans. “Large majorities of self-described socialists (97%) and progressives (95%) and most libertarians (76%), liberals (72%), and moderates (66%) support legalizing marijuana for recreational use, but only 41% of conservatives agree,” the report continued. In February 2022, a poll found that 74% of residents approved of legalization.

Interestingly, only 16% of people polled said that they heard details about HB-1633, while only 45% had heard “some about it,” 28% had heard “not very much,” and 10% had heard “nothing at all.” Specifically among the 10% that heard nothing at all (approximately 1,060 participants), 37% said that they strongly support legalization, while only 24% “somewhat” support it, 14% are neutral. Additionally, also within the 10%, 23% said that they “strongly” oppose legalization, and 9% said that they “somewhat” oppose it, and 1% was unsure.

The poll also inquired about why those who oppose legalization choose to do so. “Among Granite Staters opposed to the bill (N=247), only 19% oppose it because they want to legalize recreational marijuana in another way while 75% oppose the bill because they do not want to legalize recreational marijuana at all,” the results stated. “Younger opponents of the bill and self-identified Democrats are more likely to want to legalize marijuana in another way while older opponents and Republicans are more likely to not want to see marijuana legalized at all.”

The House approved HB-1633 in April, and the Senate approved the bill in May before it was killed by the committee. This led to frustration on both sides, especially since in May 2023 Sununu said that he would sign a legalization bill if it contained certain restrictions. “During my years as Governor, a bill to legalize marijuana in New Hampshire has never garnered enough bipartisan support to reach my desk. I have never vetoed legislation to legalize recreational marijuana,” Sununu said at the time. “In 2017, I was proud to be the first Governor in New Hampshire history to sign legislation decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana so that no one would go to jail for simple possession. We expanded access to medical marijuana and provided a pathway to annul old convictions for marijuana possession.”

More recently in May, Sununu confirmed that his statement still stands. “I laid out the eight or 10 things that I’d like to see in that bill for it to get a signature on my desk,” Sununu told WMUR in an interview. “If they meet those stipulations, I’ll sign it. If they don’t, I won’t.”

Last week when the bill failed to pass, Rep. Jared Sullivan described the amended Senate version of the bill as “ugly” and “the most intrusive big-government marijuana program proposed anywhere in the country, one that ignores free market principles, will stifle innovation in an emerging industry and tie future generations of Granite Staters to an inferior model indefinitely.”

Sullivan also disagreed that the bill could be reapproached next year, referencing the House stance in opposition of having cannabis be a state-run franchise model. “Does anyone in here actually believe that we will be able to reel in a newly empowered government bureaucracy after they’ve spent millions of dollars?” said Sullivan. “Does anyone honestly believe it will be easy to pull back power from an unelected agency once they have it?”

Sen. Shannon Chandley spoke more positively about the bill to AP News. “This bill does address what the people of our state want,” Chandley said. “And besides being the will of the majority, it allows us to do what is really necessary, and that is to regulate.”

ACLU of New Hampshire executive director Devon Chaffee called out legislators on refusing to make choices based on their constituents. “Marijuana legalization is not just a political squabble about the economic benefits,” Chaffee said. “The war on marijuana has real-life impacts.”

The post Poll Results Show New Hampshire Support for Adult-Use Legalization first appeared on High Times.

The post Poll Results Show New Hampshire Support for Adult-Use Legalization appeared first on Paradise Found.

The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted last week to approve a bill to legalize recreational marijuana, marking the second time the chamber has passed the legislation. Members of the House voted 239-136 on Thursday to pass the measure, House Bill 1633 (HB1633), which would legalize pot for adults and set the stage for tightly regulated cannabis sales.

Bills with financial elements must be passed twice under New Hampshire state law. The first time the marijuana legalization measure was up for a vote in February, the chamber advanced the bill by a vote of 239-14. The bill was then sent to the House Financial Committee so the panel could consider the financial elements of the proposal.

On April 2, the Financial Committee voted 19-6 to recommend passage of a revised version of the legislation. Democratic Representative Chuck Grassie wrote a statement in support of the bill.

“The legalization of cannabis will move production and sales from the underground, sometimes dangerous, illicit market to legal businesses, allowing for appropriate regulations and control,” he said at the time, the Concord Monitor reported.

Before the vote on Thursday, Republican state Representative Erica Layon, the sponsor of the measure, called on her colleagues in the House to pass the bill. She argued that many people in New Hampshire already have access to marijuana, either by growing their own, purchasing it in other states, or buying weed from the unregulated market. New Hampshire is an outlier in New England, being the only state in the region that has not yet legalized cannabis for adults.

“What this bill would change is that you could have regulated, tested products that are free of contaminants and are not mixed with other drugs,” Layon said, according to a separate report from the Concord Monitor.

Bill Permits 15 Pot Shops Statewide

If passed by the state Senate and signed into law by Republican Governor Chris Sununu, the bill would legalize marijuana for adults aged 21 and older, who would be permitted to possess up to four ounces of weed. The measure also legalizes the commercial production and sale of cannabis products under a tightly regulated model overseen by the New Hampshire Liquor Commission. The bill only allows for 15 retail cannabis dispensaries to operate statewide to serve a population of nearly 1.4 million people.

Opponents of the bill argued that marijuana legalization would harm young people, pose a safety risk on the state’s roadways and would not reduce unregulated sales of weed. Supporters of the arguments countered that such outcomes have not been documented in states that have legalized recreational weed.

Republican Representative Kenneth Weyler encouraged his fellow representatives to vote “no” on the bill, saying that other states that have legalized cannabis have had public safety issues after the reforms were enacted.

“We now have the examples of many other states that have legalized this substance over the past few years,” he said. “Have any of them bragged about how much money they made? Have any of them seen a reduction in petty crime?”

Bill Now Heads to State Senate

Following its passage in the House last week, HB 1633 now heads to the New Hampshire Senate for consideration by a legislative committee and the full body. If the Senate passes the bill, it will head to Sununu for consideration. 

After years of opposition to legalizing recreational weed, the governor said last year he would sign a bill that does so in a tightly controlled manner. However, the legislation does not fulfill the conditions he set at the time, including a proposal that would only allow cannabis sales at state-run dispensaries. If Sununu gets the bill, he will have the option of vetoing the legislation or signing it into law.

Cannabis policy advocates hailed the House’s passage of the recreational marijuana bill by lawmakers in the Granite State. Jen Flanagan, director of regulatory policy for cannabis and psychedelics law firm Vicente LLP, said she gives “the New Hampshire House of Representatives a lot of credit for their hard work in passing the adult-use cannabis legalization legislation.”

“As with every other state that has legalized cannabis, New Hampshire must work out the details that work for their state and I hope the Senate takes this opportunity to see that safe and legal products are best for the public health and public safety of communities,” Flanagan wrote in an email to High Times.

The post New Hampshire House Passes Cannabis Legalization Bill appeared first on High Times.

The post New Hampshire House Passes Cannabis Legalization Bill appeared first on Paradise Found.