Probe: Pol peddled pot in N.H.
Ex-rep accused of dealing to legislators
An ex-politician is accused of toking up inside New Hampshire’s Statehouse while in office and selling such potent pot to fellow lawmakers he was described as the “Club Med of weed,” a scathing report states.
Former state Rep. Kyle Tasker, a Republican from Nottingham, N.H., resigned in March after his arrest for soliciting a minor for sex and drug possession. Authorities also said they discovered marijuana, magic mushrooms, opioids and ecstasy in Tasker’s Smoke Street home at the time.
After a lengthy investigation, Granite State Attorney General Joseph Foster said yesterday Tasker also sold drugs to lawmakers, and concluded that at least five bought pot from or communicated with the 30-year-old about drugs. The AG did not charge any in the case.
New Hampshire House Minority Leader Stephen Shurtleff, a Democrat, told the Herald that Tasker’s alleged pot business “casts a pall on the House.”
“We who make the laws have to set the example in obeying them. We can’t pick and choose,” Shurtleff said.
Republican House Speaker Shawn Jasper said the lawmakers “should consider whether their actions have compromised the dignity and integrity of the New Hampshire House,” adding that “voters will decide whether or not the representatives running for reelection deserve their votes.”
Marijuana is not decriminalized in New Hampshire, like it is in 21 states, including Massachusetts. New Hampshire passed a medical pot bill in 2013 that took effect in April.
Lawmakers who spoke with the AG’s office said Tasker sold to people who needed pot for medicinal purposes but could not buy the drug legally, according to the AG’s release.
State Rep. Joseph Lachance allegedly bought pot from Tasker six to eight times, the report said. Lechance, a Republican who co-sponsored a failed decriminalization bill this year, called Tasker the “Club Med of weed” because he carried “high-end” strains. He did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
State Rep. Pamela Tucker allegedly purchased pot from Tasker once and another time bought vials of marijuana “elixir” for “sleep and energy,” the report said, stopping because using it was “hypocritical.” She also did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Other lawmakers named in the AG’s report included state Rep. Ted Wright, state Rep. Shem Kellogg, state Rep. Al Baldasaro and state Rep. Amanda Bouldin. Only Bouldin responded after multiple requests for comment. Bouldin said, according to the AG’s report, that she was with Tasker when he smoked marijuana in the Concord, N.H., Statehouse anteroom.
Bouldin directed questions to her attorney, Seth Hipple, who said in a statement: “Amanda will continue working to reduce the harm to her constituents caused by the drug war and the opioid crisis.”
Neither Tasker nor his lawyer returned calls for comment.