Legal pot bill clears Senate with a midnight vote
May 24—CONCORD — As the clock struck midnight Friday, the New Hampshire Senate made history by giving final approval for the first time to legislation that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 or older.
However, the heavily worked-over compromise that cleared the Senate on a 14-10 vote contained sweeping differences from the cannabis reform that the House of Representatives had backed by an even stronger 64% majority last month.
The changes raised the odds that the bill will take negotiations between legislative leaders in both branches to reach common ground on a proposal that can win the backing of Gov. Chris Sununu.
New Hampshire remains the only state in New England without legalized marijuana. Supporters maintain the state loses millions in potential revenue every year as residents exit the state to purchase the product just over the borders.
Five Senate Republicans — bill sponsor Sen. Daryl Abbas of Salem and Sens. Keith Murphy of Manchester, Howard Pearl of Loudon, Tim Lang of Sanbornton and Dan Innis of Bradford — joined with nine of 10 Senate Democrats to support the legislation.
"My efforts here were to try and mitigate the negative impacts as much as we can while implementing the recreation policy as best as we could it," Abbas said.
Retiring Sen. Lou D'Allesandro of Manchester was the only Democrat to oppose it.
"Why are we always looking for an artificial stimulant to make us feel better? We are a drug-oriented society because we don't want to feel pain," D'Allesandro said.
Senate President Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, who opposed the bill, convinced his colleagues to make numerous changes with further restrictions, including reducing the legal possession limit from 4 ounces to 2, increasing penalties for providing marijuana to minors and creating a Cannabis Commission to endorse rules governing retail sales.
The House would permit a city or town to vote every year on whether to accept a marijuana business, while Bradley's proviso would make developers wait three years for a revote if voters first turned the idea down.
The Senate bill pushes out the law's effective date to Jan. 1, 2026, to coincide with the expected opening of 15 franchise stores, which would be under the direct supervision of the New Hampshire Liquor Commission.
"You should take solace that we have made a much better product," Bradley said.
The New Hampshire Cannabis Association urged the House to reject Bradley's changes. President Daryl Eames, founder of the group, said Bradley's commission would exercise "Soviet-style control" over the market.
The House proposal would impose a fine on the first offense and a lower-level misdemeanor for repeat offenses, but without incarceration.
