Cannabis reform could arrive in nine states this year. Yet some remain far more likely than others to make it a reality.

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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.”

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Medical cannabis is legal in New Hampshire, but recreational use has only been decriminalized, not legalized. However, the New Hampshire Senate recently approved of a cannabis legalized bill in a 14-9 vote on May 16, and it’s the farthest that any cannabis legalization bill has reached to date.

If passed into law, House Bill 1633-FN-A would legalize adult-use cannabis for those over 21 years of age, and establish a regulatory framework. This includes a possession allowance limit set at four ounces of cannabis, 10 grams of concentrates, and non-concentrate products up to 2,000 mg THC. Currently, the bill allows for 15 adult-use dispensaries to open up throughout the state in order to avoid market oversaturation.

On May 16, Senators approved and rejected a variety of amendments. One change prevents cannabis business license owners from using their funds to lobby for cannabis legislation, and also bars those individuals from participating in “political activity” or contributing “funds to any entity engaged” in such activities. Another would present the question “Shall we allow the operation of cannabis establishments within the town or city?” to each municipality. A majority “yes” vote would permit retail outlets to open up, while a majority “no” vote would not permit stores to open, and the question cannot be asked again until three years have passed.

Another amendment from Sen. President Jeb Bradley, which he described as his most important amendment, would be to change the proposal of an “advisory board” to that of a “cannabis control commission” in charge of approving rules and regulations. “If we’re going to protect public health, if we’re going to protect the kids in the state of New Hampshire, this board needs to be turned into a control commission,” said Bradley. “Everybody knows I don’t like this bill because of the public health implications. We can make it a little bit better with this amendment.”

During the most recent hearing, Sen. Daryl Abbas explained that there is much more work to be done to flesh out the bill as it progresses. “No cannabis policy will be perfect,” said Abbas during the most recent hearing. He added that the current version of the bill “was drafted to balance the public safety needs of our communities with the legalization of cannabis.” Abbas added that previously there had been “some really, really, really scary policies” in the past, referring to one that would have permitted public smoking outside of the New Hampshire State House.

New Hampshire polls reflect that a majority of residents approve of legalization. “Most of the polls are pretty straightforward, all well over 70 percent on this,” Abbas said.

Sen. Bill Gannon was one legislator who opposed the bill, claiming that it would increase access to drugs throughout the state, making it more accessible to minors, and promote illegal sales. “We are going to change the fabric of New Hampshire if we pass this legislation,” Gannon said.

Bradley also expressed his desire for the bill to be rejected by the Senate. “I don’t want to see it get out of the Senate, period,” he told WMUR. However, he admitted that he will do his best to amend the bill should it become law. “If there are 13 votes for it, I’m gonna try to make it the most user-friendly for New Hampshire,” said Bradley. “So keeping the black market out, making sure the regulatory process is tight, making sure that there is a THC limit on the products that can be sold, and making sure that big marijuana—you know, the same as Big Tobacco—is not dominating the politics of the statehouse. To me that’s really important if it’s going to pass.”

Despite the opposition, advocates celebrated the news and potential future of cannabis in New Hampshire. Organizations such as Marijuana Policy Project praised the move on social media, but urged New Hampshirites to contact state senators and make their voices heard.

Similar reactions were seen when the House approved the bill in April, such as Vicente LLP director of regulatory policy for cannabis and psychedelics, Jen Flanagan. “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 said.

Next up, House Bill 1633-FN-A will be heard in a second Senate committee, and later receive a second Senate floor vote, before it can be sent back to the House with the new amendments. 

There is still the obstacle of getting the bill passed by New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu as well. Last May, Sununu explained his stance on cannabis legalization. “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,” he said in a press statement. “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.”

Earlier this month, Sununu reiterated his criteria for signing a cannabis legalization bill. “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,” he said in a WMUR interview. “If they meet those stipulations, I’ll sign it. If they don’t, I won’t.”

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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.

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The New Hampshire House of Representatives last week approved a bill to legalize recreational marijuana as lawmakers revisit the issue of cannabis policy reform for the Granite State. The measure, House Bill 1633 (HB1633), was passed by the full House on Thursday by a vote of 239-14, although legislators who back cannabis legalization efforts offered only lukewarm support for the legislation.

Before being approved in the House, the bill was amended by the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee. Republican state Representative Erica Layon, the sponsor of the bill, said that changes to the measure were made to satisfy the concerns of some lawmakers in the Senate.

“It’s a compromise,” Republican state Representative Erica Layon said in a statement to local media. “Every single person in a seat here can find a reason to vote against the amendment and vote against the bill. But the question is, do we have a net benefit to the state by passing this? I believe we do.”

If passed, the legislation would legalize cannabis for adults aged 21 and older, who would be permitted to possess up to four ounces of marijuana. The measure also legalizes the commercial production and sale of cannabis products under a tightly regulated model. The bill only allows for 15 retail cannabis dispensaries to operate in the state, which would be overseen by the New Hampshire Liquor Commission. 

Bill Fails To Meet Governor’s Conditions

Although the bill represents a relatively tightly regulated model for cannabis legalization, the legislation does not meet the requirements set by Republican Governor Chris Sununu for a recreational weed bill. After years of opposition to marijuana policy reform, he said last year that would support a bill that legalized adult-use pot in a tightly controlled manner.

Among the conditions that are included in the legislation are a cap on marijuana retailers and a ban on cannabis advertising. But the bill does not include the governor’s call for state-run dispensaries and a ban on lobbying by cannabis businesses, provisions that Layon said would expose the state to legal liabilities.

The amended bill also does not satisfy some proponents of cannabis policy reform. Democratic Representative Jonah Wheeler, a lawmaker who supports broader marijuana legalization, urged his colleagues to vote against the amended measure.

“This amendment will satisfy the hunger that we all feel – many of us feel – for legalization,” said state Representative Jonah Wheeler. “But it is a bologna sandwich that will leave us satisfied, but in a few hours, we will be hungry again because there was no nutrition there.”

Democratic state Representative Heath Howard noted that HB1633 has stiffer penalties for public consumption of cannabis.

“This bill not only keeps the current misdemeanor charges for people smoking in public, but it also increases the second-violation fines,” said Democratic state Representative Heath Howard.

Despite the tight regulations, some conservative lawmakers believe that the legalization bill advanced by the New Hampshire House goes too far.

“This bill does not reach the level of guardrails that we were looking for,” said Republican state Representative Tim Cahill.

But proponents of the legislation say they have attempted to build consensus among groups that have previously opposed efforts to legalize marijuana in New Hampshire.

“What we have tried to do this time is include industry, government, law enforcement– basically folks that have been traditionally prohibitionists, and I think there has been more listening and more consensus-building than ever before,” Tim Egan of the New Hampshire Cannabis Trade Association said in a statement.

HB 1633 has been referred to the House Finance Committee for consideration. If the committee approves the legislation, it will head back to the floor for another vote by the full House before being sent to the New Hampshire state Senate.

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2024 in weed strains, politics and more.

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A New Hampshire commission formed to create a cannabis legalization plan for the state held its final meeting this week but failed to produce any recommendations after months of deliberation. 

The 19-member commission convened this summer to consider a plan to legalize cannabis for adults under a program that would see retail sales of weed handled by state-run cannabis shops, similar to New Hampshire’s model for alcohol sales. But after months of discussions about a draft legislative proposal from Republican Senator Daryl Abbas, the commission ended its work on Monday without adopting the plan or issuing any recommendations.

Some members of the panel placed blame for the commission’s failure to reach a consensus on a proposal on Republican Governor John Sununu, who has opposed the legalization of recreational marijuana for years. Earlier this year, however, Sununu said he would consider a legalization plan that put the control of cannabis dispensaries in the hands of the state liquor commission, which would oversee shops run by franchisees selected by the state. The governor also threatened to reject any legislative plan that did not meet his specifications.

“The governor is open to discussing a franchisee-based system, but the success of such a model is in the details,” the governor’s office said in a written statement to local television news. “The governor has been clear that any system meets his outlined framework – or be met with a veto.”

Before the commission ended its work on Monday, Sununu added new conditions that he said would have to be met in order for him to approve a pot legalization plan. In addition to his previously stated requirements, the governor wanted a statewide limit of 15 cannabis retail shops and a ban on lobbying by and political contributions from the licensed cannabis industry.

Democratic Senator Becky Whitley, a member of the commission, criticized the governor for his demands, which came on the day of the panel’s final meeting.

“At the very last meeting, the last half-hour, now, all of the sudden, we’re considering things that flew in from the governor’s office last-minute?” said Whitley. “This is not how we legislate.”

Governor Faces Resistance On New Conditions

While discussing the governor’s new conditions, the commission heard testimony from Paul Morisette, a New Hampshire resident who is a partner in Maine-based East Coast Cannabis, who said that the requested cap on cannabis retailers is not enough shops for the state.

“You are not going to collect the tax you are projecting in fifteen stores,” Morrisette told the commission in testimony cited by New Hampshire Public Radio. “You are setting up the liquor commission to fail.”

But a representative from the governor’s office said that Sununu is set on the 15-store limit.

“I can tell you from the point of view of the governor’s office, we are adamant about that number,” said David Mara, Sununu’s advisor on addiction and behavioral health.

The commission also heard from Frank Knaack of the New Hampshire chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, who told the panel’s members that the governor’s requested ban on cannabis industry lobbying and political contributions is likely illegal.

“It’s definitely something of concern, something we haven’t seen before in other aspects of New Hampshire law,” said Knaack.

After the committee wrapped up its proceedings on Monday, Whitley cited Sununu’s late demands as the cause of the commission’s inability to find consensus after months of meetings.

“Disappointed but not surprised,” Whitley wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “@GovChrisSununu yet again interferes with legalization in NH. Setting up a responsible, regulated adult-use market for cannabis will recapture $$$ currently going to our neighboring states AND it’s what Granite Staters want.”

The failure of the commission to develop a cannabis legalization plan for New Hampshire, the only state in New England that has not ended the prohibition on weed, leaves the prospect for reform in the near future unclear. But even before Monday’s meeting, Republican Senator Tim Lang noted that any proposals adopted by the commission would be subject to further discussion in the legislature.

“This isn’t the end,” said Lang. “We are just getting to the beginning.”

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A New Hampshire cannabis panel, officially called the “Commission to Study With the Purpose of Proposing Legalization, State Controlled Sales of Cannabis and Cannabis Products,” held its most recent meeting after it was created this summer with the intention of presenting draft bill recommendations by Dec. 1, 2023. Legislators will discuss the recommendations next year during the 2024 legislative session.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed House Bill 611 to establish the commission in August, stating that it will allow experts to discuss the best course of action. “New Hampshire has an opportunity to safely regulate the sale of marijuana with a model few others can provide,” said Sununu. “By establishing a commission to study state-controlled sales, this bill will bring stakeholders from across New Hampshire together to ensure that preventing negative impacts upon kids remains our number one priority.”

Since its creation, the commission has held five meetings on Sept. 8, Sept. 18, Oct. 5, Oct. 19, Oct. 24, with the next meeting set for Nov. 3. According to N.H. Rev. Stat. § 176:16-b, the goal of the commission is “to study with the purpose of proposing legislation, state-controlled sales of cannabis and cannabis products.”

Sen. Timothy Lang kicked off the most recent meeting to clarify the commission’s goals. “We’re not here to discuss legalization, we’re here to discuss how to put a bill forward that would do legalization, but do it in the matter that is most protective of our citizens and our regulations,” said Lang. “The charge of the commission is to put the best bill forward possible if legalization were to happen in a state-controlled model.” He added that their goal is to determine what should be added to the bill to address their various concerns, and also what would make New Hampshire’s legalization “better than Colorado.”

The first half of the meeting consisted of hearing from three individuals. First up was Dr. Omar Shaw (an adult and child psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist, as well as faculty at Boston Children’s Hospital and instructor at Harvard Medical School) stated that he doesn’t see benefits of cannabis outside of FDA-approved seizure medicine. “Once you get away from these conditions, it’s very hard to see the benefits overall compared to the potential side effects it has,” Shaw stated. When asked about what he would add to legislation to address his concerns, he suggested a minimum age of 25 for consumption because that’s when brain growth begins to slow. However, he also added that if it were up to him, he would ban alcohol and nicotine too.

Amy Turncliff was the second speaker, who explained that she has a pHD in neurobiology with postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School, with expertise in mental health and substance abuse disorders, as well as cannabis use and policy. She advised it would be best to create a legalization bill that “would mitigate those negative impacts” of both youth and adult consumers who could be at risk of psychotic disorders. But then she added that she doesn’t think that can be mitigated. “Those of us who are public health advocates do believe that there will be a reckoning down the road…Maybe a decade or more from now, all of this is going to come tumbling out,” Turncliff said.

The third speaker was Scott Gagnon, a certified prevention specialist and anti-cannabis advocate from Maine who led the coalition against cannabis in that state in 2016. He began by explaining that progress was undone by legislators who didn’t take the impacts of cannabis seriously. “You can put forward the best legislation that’s ever happened in this country when it comes to cannabis legalization, but the work after it is going to be just as important to protect what to protect what you put in there,” Gagnon said.

The floor was open to public comment following Gagnon’s speaking time, leading with USDA licensed hemp cultivator, Jim Riddle. He brought up a recent New Hampshire farmer survey which showed that 87% were supportive of legalization “in general”, and 78% have “expressed interest” in growing cannabis. Riddle also added that a more restrictive legalization bill will lead to more issues with an illegal industry. “The more barriers to being a legal player, the more you’re favoring the illegal market,” Riddle said.

After a brief break, the panel returned to discuss the current draft of the 37-page bill, but only proceeded to review a few pages before concluding for the day.

At a previous meeting on Sept. 18, the panel considered a state-run model for legalization, according to New Hampshire Liquor Commission chairman Joseph Mollica. “The model that we are looking to put into place, that we feel would be feasible, is that the Liquor Commission would be the franchisor and the franchisee would be the retailer,” Mollica said. Essentially, the liquor commission would control all “safety aspects of selling the product.”

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New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu last week signed legislation to create a commission to study legalizing recreational marijuana via a plan that restricts adult-use cannabis sales to state-run retailers.

Previously opposed to legalizing recreational marijuana, Sununu changed his position earlier this year after an adult-use cannabis legalization bill failed in the New Hampshire Senate after receiving approval from the state House of Representatives. 

“Knowing that a majority of our residents support legalization, it is reasonable to assume change is inevitable. To ignore this reality would be shortsighted and harmful,” Sununu wrote in a statement in May. “That is why, with the right policy and framework in place, I stand ready to sign a legalization bill that puts the State of NH in the driver’s seat, focusing on harm reduction  —  not profits. Similar to our Liquor sales, this path helps to keep substances away from kids by ensuring the State of New Hampshire retains control of marketing, sales, and distribution  —  eliminating any need for additional taxes.”

Sununu said that he would sign a recreational marijuana legalization bill if it included provisions to make state-run shops the only retail outlets for adult-use cannabis purchases. New Hampshire uses a similar system for spirits sales, with the state’s 67 Liquor and Wine Outlet stores being the sole retailer of hard alcohol in the state. The governor added that he would not approve an adult-use cannabis legalization bill that did not include such a state-run model for retail sales of recreational weed.

“I am supportive of legalizing marijuana in the right way – with this legislature – rather than risk a poorly thought out framework that inevitably could pass under future governors or legislatures,” Sununu said. “Should the legislature pass future legalization bills without these provisions in place, they will be vetoed.”

New Commission Will Study Cannabis Legalization

The measure passed last week, House Bill 611, establishes a commission to study legalizing recreational marijuana in New Hampshire. The legislation tasks the study commission with examining a number of issues and policy proposals, including how the state should approach cannabis sales and marketing, keeping marijuana products away from young people and preventing oversaturation of weed shops in local communities. The commission will also explore ways to allow local governments to ban or limit state-run cannabis retailers in their jurisdictions.

The new commission will meet through the summer and fall months to study and develop a model that allows the state to control the distribution and sales of adult-use cannabis. The commission’s findings and recommendations must be submitted in a report by December 1.

New Hampshire’s 18-member cannabis legalization study commission will include five senators, five members of the House of Representatives and representatives of the Attorney General’s Office, the Governor’s Office, the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police, the New Hampshire Bankers Association, the New Hampshire Liquor Commission, the American Civil Liberties Union, the New Hampshire Medical Society and Communities for Alcohol and Drug-Free Youth. Additionally, the commission will be required to consult with the state’s Alternative Treatment Centers, which currently dispense therapeutic medical marijuana in the state, and the New Hampshire Cannabis Association, an industry group that has advocated for legalization.

If the commission succeeds and is able to submit recommendations that result in a successful cannabis legalization bill, New Hampshire, the only state in New England that has not legalized recreational marijuana, will join the 23 states that have legalized marijuana for adult use. Democratic state Representative Wendy Thomas, a sponsor of House Bill 611 and a medical marijuana patient, said that she hopes to be appointed to the state’s cannabis legalization commission. 

“All of the states who have legalized cannabis are getting all of our money,” Thomas told New Hampshire Public Radio on Wednesday. “We’re just throwing money away that could help our state.”

In order to be approved by Sununu, the commission’s recommendations will have to be developed into a bill that can be passed by the legislature during the 2024 legislative session. Sununu has said he will not run for re-election in 2024, making next year the last opportunity for the governor to sign a legalization bill into law. 

Critics of Sununu’s plan say it will establish a state-run monopoly on cannabis sales that restricts the power of growers to set their own prices. Others say the state-run approach limits opportunities for members of communities disproportionately impacted by decades of cannabis prohibition.

House Bill 611 also includes provisions to ease restrictions on the use of medical marijuana, which was legalized in New Hampshire in 2013, by patients with chronic pain. Under the previous regulations, patients could only receive a recommendation to use medical cannabis for chronic pain if they had first tried other options without success. The new law eliminates that restriction, effective on October 8, and allows patients to receive a medical marijuana recommendation without trying other, potentially more dangerous, options such as opioids.

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Medical cannabis patients who are visiting New Hampshire from another state or Canada can now receive the treatment from authorized dispensaries there. 

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services announced that, beginning on Wednesday, June 28, the state’s “alternative treatment centers” will be permitted to “dispense therapeutic cannabis to visitors from out of state and from Canada who are allowed to possess cannabis for therapeutic purposes in their state or province.”

“Visiting patients can purchase therapeutic cannabis from a New Hampshire ATC three times per year using their valid therapeutic cannabis identification issued by another state or Canada. If the out-of-state patient has a documented qualifying medical condition that is on the list of conditions approved by New Hampshire, those visiting patients may purchase cannabis at New Hampshire ATCs at the same frequency as New Hampshire qualifying patients,” the agency said in a bulletin posted on its website. 

“Visiting patients must show their out-of-state cannabis ID card and matching photo identification. There is a 2 ounce possession limit per patient, and all patients are limited to purchasing 2 ounces of cannabis in any 10-day period. Visiting patients must abide by all applicable state laws regarding their therapeutic use of cannabis,” the bulletin continued. 

New Hampshire legalized medical cannabis in 2013, when then-Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan signed a bill into law. At the time, New Hampshire was only the 19th state to legalize the treatment.

“Allowing doctors to provide relief to patients through the use of appropriately regulated and dispensed medical marijuana is the compassionate and right policy for the state of New Hampshire, and this legislation ensures that we approach this policy in the right way with measures to prevent abuse,” Hassan, now a U.S. Senator, said in a statement at the time.

Today, 38 states now have medical cannabis laws on the books, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. And New Hampshire has expanded its own law, with Hassan signing a bill in 2015 that broadened the list of qualifying conditions. 

According to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, a patient “must be diagnosed with a stand-alone medical condition OR a combination of a qualifying diagnosis and a qualifying symptom” in order to receive medical cannabis treatment. 

Patients with the following stand-alone conditions are eligible, per the department: “Autism spectrum disorder (age 21 and older); Autism spectrum disorder (under age 21) (requires a consultation with a certified provider of child and/or adolescent psychiatry, developmental pediatrics, or pediatric neurology, who (1) confirms that the autism spectrum disorder has not responded to previously prescribed medication or that other treatment options produced serious side effects and (2) supports certification for the use of therapeutic cannabis); Moderate or severe post-traumatic stress disorder; Moderate to severe chronic pain; Severe pain that has not responded to previously prescribed medication or surgical measures or for which other treatment options produced serious side effects; Opioid use disorder, with associated symptoms of cravings or withdrawal (requires a provider who is actively treating the patient for opioid use disorder and who is board-certified in Addiction Medicine or Addiction Psychiatry).”

But New Hampshire remains the only state in New England that has yet to legalize recreational cannabis for adults –– although it is not for lack of trying. 

In May, the New Hampshire state Senate voted down a measure to legalize recreational pot after it had been passed by the state House of Representatives a month earlier.

The bill was rejected in the state Senate by a vote of 14-10.

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