Is recreational N.H. pot passage just a pipe dream?
New Hampshire, long known for consistently beating Massachusetts to the economic punch, especially when it comes to extracting sin taxes, has been uncharacteristically behind the curve on legalizing recreational marijuana.
While in Massachusetts, where voters passed a recreational pot referendum in 2016, more than 350 marijuana retailers now operate, generating more than $ 5.5 billion in sales since the first stores opened for business in 2018.
In the Granite State, several attempts to pass a recreational pot bill have been thwarted in the Legislature, specifically in the Senate.
But now, thanks to the conditional support of outgoing Gov. Chris Sununu, there was hope that a modest pot proposal would finally receive lawmakers’ approval.
However, though New Hampshire’s latest cannabis legalization effort has been endorsed in the House, it still faces uncertain prospects in the Senate.
As reported by the nonprofit New Hampshire Bulletin and other media outlets, that’s a longstanding dynamic. The Senate has consistently rejected cannabis legalization initiatives.
This time, supporters believed they had achieved critical mass, due to the governor’s conditional backing.
That came last May, when Sununu said for the first time that he’d be amenable to signing a bill that adhered to specific criteria.
The governor said he could support a legalization option, but only if sales were limited and controlled by the state, with a priority that valued safety over profit.
But the latest version of the bill, which would authorize just 15 retail locations initially, has also drawn criticism from some legalization backers who want a less-regulated model, complicating its potential passage.
House Bill 1633 would broadly legalize cannabis, allowing anyone 21 and older to possess and consume it. The legislation would also require anyone seeking to legally purchase pot in New Hampshire to do so at one of those 15 locations.
Under this novel model, 10% of sales would end up in the state treasury.
The bill received a favorable, “ought to pass” review on Feb. 22 in the House, on a 263-116 vote.
It will now have a hearing and vote in the House Finance Committee in the coming weeks; it must then receive a final vote in the full House before it can be taken up by the Senate.
However, while the bill represents a relatively tightly regulated model for cannabis legalization, the legislation doesn’t meet all the requirements sought by Sununu.
For instance, the legislation doesn’t include the governor’s call for state- run dispensaries and a ban on lobbying by cannabis businesses, provisions that some legislators said would expose the state to legal liabilities.
The governor’s May announcement provided the catalyst for the creation of a commission, made up of both legalization advocates and critics, including the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police and Communities for Alcohol and Drug-free Youth. Predictably, that panel deadlocked in November over the best path forward.
“Quite frankly, I think it’s high time we legalized marijuana in the state and that we do it in a way that actually can be signed into law,” said Rep. Erica Layon, a Derry Republican.
Layon, who authored the latest amendment to the bill, addressed a number of provisions that direct some of the pot revenue toward treatment and enforcement against improper use.
That argument persuaded a number of legalization advocates, particularly Democrats, to back the bill. But some have called on the House to push for a more comprehensive approach.
Detractors also contend those few retail stores wouldn’t dissuade consumers from driving to retail outlets in other states, particularly in those communities near the Massachusetts border.
For example, the town of Dracut, just over the Massachusetts line from Pelham, features four recreational marijuana retail outlets alone.
Layon and others, including House Democrats, have urged pragmatism, noting that the New Hampshire taxes in the proposed state- run plan would still be lower than those in neighboring states.
That’s certainly true of its southern neighbor. In Massachusetts, marijuana taxes can run as high as 20%.
The bill could face bigger problems in the Senate, where many remain uneasy on the prospect of any form of cannabis legalization.
“I’m not a big proponent of marijuana, even though I personally supported medical marijuana and decriminalization,” said Senate President Jeb Bradley, a Wolfeboro Republican, at a press conference in early January.
“We’ll see what happens. I think at the end of the day, for those of us that are opposed to legalization and those of us that are in favor of it, we want to see something that works for New Hampshire, that protects public health, and (that) we ensure public safety.”
So, will the Granite State finally pass a recreational pot bill, or will the Senate again fail to align New Hampshire with other New England states?
And would Sununu sign a bill that he doesn’t fully support?
All the while, this income- tax- and sales- tax-free