West Lebanon
After years of failed efforts, a push to decriminalize marijuana in the Granite State appears to have a good chance of passage.
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee in Concord voted 3-2 to recommend a bill that would reduce the penalties for those found with limited amounts of the drug. That move followed a House vote in March, where state representatives overwhelmingly passed a similar measure.
Combine those victories with Gov. Chris Sununu being on the record in favor of decriminalization, and supporters say this will likely be the year a bill gets signed.
But while some are celebrating what they say is an effort to keep low-level offenders out of the courts and prisons, a few Upper Valley legislators worry decriminalization could encourage drug use and worsen the ongoing opioid crisis.
Of the three state senators representing the Upper Valley, only Sen. Martha Hennessey, D-Hanover, intends to support decriminalization. State Sens. Ruth Ward, R-Stoddard, and Bob Giuda, R-Warren, said on Monday they plan to vote “no.”
The bill before the Senate would make possessing up to three-quarters of an ounce of marijuana a civil violation punishable by a $100 fine for first and second offenders, and a $300 fine for a third offense.
Currently, those found possessing any amount of marijuana can be charged with a misdemeanor, which is punishable with up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
“I think it’s time we decriminalize small amounts of marijuana,” said Hennessey, whose district encompasses Hanover, Lebanon, Enfield, Lyme, Claremont, Cornish, Plainfield and Charlestown.
She argued that too many young people see their prospects in life crippled by marijuana convictions. The drug isn’t chemically addictive and there’s little to no evidence that it serves as a gateway drug to opioids, she said.
Hennessey, who voted for the Senate bill in the Judiciary Committee, said she’s worked hard to forge a compromise on the legislation.
The original House version of the bill sought to decriminalize up to an ounce of marijuana, while others were calling for that to be reduced to half an ounce or less.
“My own feeling is that it will pass in the Senate,” she said. “That’s my hunch.”
Meanwhile, Guida said on Monday he won’t be supporting the bill.
“The reason is every single child advocacy agency and drug interdiction agency that I’ve talked to” oppose it, he said.
Giuda, whose district includes Haverhill, Orford, Piermont, Dorchester and Orange, said police officials have expressed concerns about enforcing the law.
He also questioned whether now is the right time for decriminalization, with New Hampshire combating an ongoing opioid epidemic.
“I don’t think it’s time. I don’t think it’s the right thing to do,” Giuda said.
Instead, he said, the state should focus more on its treatment programs, and increasing the number of judges available to see cases.
The country’s current drug enforcement system eventually will need to change, Giuda said, but it needs to be through a comprehensive policy and not “one-at-a-time fixes.”
Ward, whose district includes the Newport-Sunapee region, expressed similar reservations about the bill.
“I have talked to several police chiefs and they don’t like it,” she said. “In this case, I just think it’s wrong.”
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, told the Concord Monitor he thinks the votes exist to pass decriminalization this year. Although the House has voted in favor of decriminalization bills in the past, the Senate has traditionally declined to follow.
Rep. Sue Almy, D-Lebanon, said she hopes this will be the year the Legislature sends a bill to the governor’s office.
The bill passed the House, 318-36, in March.
Almy, who was once opposed to decriminalization, said she know of constituents who have trouble finding jobs because of a marijuana conviction. She said employers have also had trouble keeping previously convicted employers on the payroll when applying for federally contracted jobs.
“They can’t find workers anymore because so many people have tried it and been caught trying it,” Almy said.
In neighboring Vermont, where marijuana has already been decriminalized, a legalization bill could still wind up on the governor’s desk.
Last week, the state Senate passed a measure that would legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, similar to a home-grown measure narrowly approved in the House a few days earlier.
But it would delay legalization until 2018.
The Senate previously approved a tax-and-regulate bill akin to the law in Colorado, and the latest version from the chamber would also establish a commission charged with drafting a bill for a regulated and taxed marijuana market.
State Sen. Dick McCormack, D-Bethel, said the two chambers have disagreed over how to regulate or tax legalized marijuana.
He favors the House’s more “libertarian” model, but said he’s also willing to vote on a version of the bill that regulates marijuana growth.
“It would be better than keeping it illegal,” he said.
However, the Legislature is expected to wrap up its work for the year this week, and it’s not certain the two chambers will find a compromise before Friday.
Republican Gov. Phil Scott has also said he would like a driver impairment law in place before marijuana is legalized.
If a bill isn’t passed this year, McCormack said, he thinks one is capable of passing next year.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.