Measure would have legalized possession of up to two-and-a-half ounces of flower in the Granite State
It’s a cherished State House maxim in New Hampshire: Every bill gets a public hearing, and every bill gets a vote on the House or Senate floor.
But a series of scheduling woes, time constraints, and partisan machinations just upended that tradition.
Facing the need to pass 344 bills over two days — and a midnight Thursday, March 12, calendar deadline to do so — House Republicans made a decision: They structured the calendar so that bills recommended to pass by committees would receive votes in the floor first. Bills that committees recommended to be killed or shelved would be taken up afterward.
The effect: The bills favored by Republicans, the majority party, jumped to the front of the line. And after two days of voting, and some Democratic obstruction, House leadership chose to adjourn the chamber on Thursday afternoon with 84 bills still waiting for a vote.
Those 84 bills, many from Democrats, died automatically when the Thursday deadline struck, without any debate on the floor.
The parliamentary fiasco sparked notable moments of frustration. Democrats blasted Republicans, arguing they intentionally deprived their opponents’ bills of a chance of passage and that better scheduling ahead of the deadline could have provided time for all of them.
Republicans fumed over a series of moves by individual Democrats Wednesday that slowed down the voting process, accusing them of dilatory obstruction.
In the end, the House adjourned around 4:30 p.m Thursday leaving dozens of bills in an unusual fate: No chamber vote in favor, no vote against, their outcome officially labeled under the puzzling category “miscellaneous.”
Among the health-related measures to fail was House Bill 1235, an Act legalizing certain quantities of cannabis. It was a push by Bethlehem Democratic Rep. Jared Sullivan to legalize possession of small amounts for people over 21. Provisions in the bill included:
Purpose and Core Legalization
- “The people of the state of New Hampshire find and declare that the possession and use of cannabis by a person 21 years of age or older should be legal.”
- This is intended to allow “law enforcement to focus on violent and property crimes, and advancing individual freedom.”
The “Possession Limit” Defined
The act defines the legal “possession limit” as:
- “Two-and-a-half ounces of cannabis flower or cannabis trim.”
- “Ten grams of cannabis concentrate.”
- “Cannabis products… containing no more than 2,000 milligrams of THC.”
Authorized Activities
For a person 21 years of age or older, the following “shall not be illegal” and “shall not be a criminal or civil offense”:
- “Possessing, consuming, processing, or transporting an amount of cannabis that does not exceed the possession limit.”
- “Transferring an amount of cannabis that does not exceed the possession limit to a person who is 21 years of age or older without remuneration.”
- “Possessing or purchasing cannabis paraphernalia.”
Restrictions and Penalties
- Underage Possession: “Any person under 21 years of age who knowingly possesses 3/4 ounce or less of cannabis… shall be guilty of a violation,” subject to “a fine of $100 for a first or second offense.”
- Exceeding Limits: Possession of “an amount of cannabis exceeding the possession limit… by a person who is 21 years of age or older… the person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”
- Driving: “Nothing in this section shall… be construed to permit driving or operating under the influence of drugs or liquor.”
- Private Property: The act does not “prohibit a person or other entity that legally owns, leases, or controls any property from prohibiting or otherwise regulating the sale, use, or growing of cannabis on or in the property.”
- Workplace: It shall not “require an employer to permit or accommodate the use… or possession… of cannabis in the workplace.”
Part of this reporting was reprinted from the New Hampshire Bulletin under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. You can read the original version here.
