New Hampshire legislature votes to legalize recreational cannabis

Less than two months after similar legislation was blocked by the New Hampshire legislature, the same body approved a bill that would legalize the possession and cultivation of cannabis for adult use.

Parliament voted 207 in favor and 139 against. The bill would authorize the possession of 21g and the cultivation of three plants per adult. Cannabis sales would not be authorized, a proposal similar to the one voted in Vermont a few days ago.

New Hampshire has seen many twists and turns around this bill. In particular, the state's Public Safety Committee had recommended aborting the project, with the text's study commission scheduled to deliver its opinion in November 2018. The project was rejected by a vote of this same committee, then reworked by removing the authorization of legal cannabis sales.

New Hampshire House Passes bill to regulate and legalize marijuana! Congrats @rennycushing! @MarijuanaPolicy pic.twitter.com/TIe73Cg0wr

- Mindi Messmer (@MindiMessmer) January 9, 2018

ADVERTISING

Medical cannabis has been legal in New Hampshire since 2013. The state decriminalized adult-use cannabis in 2017.

The bill would now go directly to the Senate for a vote. NORML reports that it actually goes back to the House Ways and Means Committee, which must take a position on whether to continue its parliamentary journey. Either it goes straight to the Senate, or hearings on the bill will be held before it returns to Parliament for another vote.

Various bills have already passed through the New Hampshire legislature and been rejected by the Senate in recent years, despite popular support for 68%.