WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A New Hampshire House Committee has approved a bill that will legalize possession and limited home cultivation of cannabis for adults aged 21 years and older in the state. However, the legislation does not provide for retail sales in the state.
The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee approved the bill, H.B. 1648, in a 13-7 vote. A full House vote on the bill is expected to take place on Thursday, February 6.
H.B. 1648 will allow adults aged 21 and above in New Hampshire to possess up to three-quarters of an ounce of cannabis, five grams of hashish, and up to 300 mg of cannabis-infused products. This is currently a violation punishable by a civil fine.
The bill would also permit cultivation of up to six cannabis plants, including up to three mature ones, at home in a secure location that is not visible from other properties. Further, It will allow adults to possess and process the cannabis produced from their plants at the same location.
The bill is similar to the current marijuana model of neighboring Vermont, where adults are allowed to grow and possess cannabis plants. Vermont does not have recreational marijuana shops in the state.
In 2019, the House of Representatives passed a similar bill H.B. 481, for legalizing cannabis in the state. Unlike the new bill, that bill would have created a regulated and taxed market in the state.
However, the tax-and-regulate marijuana legalization bill ultimately stalled and died in the Senate after receiving a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Matt Simon, New England political director at the Marijuana Policy Project, said, 'Like most Granite Staters, this committee understands that it's time for New Hampshire to stop prohibiting cannabis. Adults in the 'Live Free or Die' state should not be punished for their choice to use a substance that is objectively less harmful than alcohol.'
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