Yo, peep this! Last week, the New Hampshire House of Representatives gave the green light on a bill to legalize recreational weed as they revisit the whole cannabis policy reform situation for the Granite State. The bill, House Bill 1633 (HB1633), got passed by the full House last Thursday with a vote of 239-14, but peeps who are all about that cannabis life only kinda supported the bill.
Before the House gave it the thumbs up, the bill got some changes by the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee. Republican state Rep Erica Layon, the sponsor of the bill, said they made these changes to make some Senate lawmakers happy.
“It’s a compromise,” Republican state Rep Erica Layon told the local media. “Everyone in this room could find a reason to hate on this bill, but at the end of the day, does it benefit our state? I think it does.”
If this bill goes through, it would make weed legal for adults who are 21 and older. They could have up to four ounces of that good stuff and even buy it from certain stores under strict rules. Only 15 weed shops would be allowed to do business in New Hampshire, and they’d be overseen by the Liquor Commission.
But hold up! This bill ain’t making everyone happy. It doesn’t meet Governor Chris Sununu’s conditions for a weed bill. He didn’t like weed before but said he’d support a bill that legalized it in a tight way. Some of his conditions aren’t in this bill, like having state-run weed stores and banning weed companies from lobbying. Layon said adding these could get New Hampshire in some legal trouble.
Even some people who are down with weed legalization ain’t feeling this bill. Democratic Rep Jonah Wheeler wants more than what this bill is offering.
“This amendment might satisfy some of us wanting legalization, but it’s like eating a bologna sandwich – you’ll be hungry again soon cause there ain’t much substance there,” said Rep Jonah Wheeler.
Another Dem Rep, Heath Howard, pointed out that this bill would hit hard on peeps smoking weed in public.
“Not only do you still get busted for smoking outside, but you’ll get hit with bigger fines if you get caught twice,” said Dem Rep Heath Howard.
Some conservative lawmakers think this bill is too much, saying it doesn’t have enough guardrails to keep things in check.
“This bill ain’t got enough safety nets like we wanted,” said Republican Rep Tim Cahill.
But those who want this bill to pass say they tried to work with groups who weren’t cool with legalizing weed before.
“We’re trying to include everyone – industry heads, law enforcement, basically anyone who was against weed before. We’ve been listening and trying to build consensus more than ever,” Tim Egan from the New Hampshire Cannabis Trade Association stated.
HB1633 is now up for review by the House Finance Committee. If they give it the thumbs up, it’ll go back to the full House for another vote before heading to the state Senate.
