With a House-passed marijuana legalization bill now pending in the New Hampshire Senate, Gov. Chris Sununu (R) is repeating his warning that the proposal will only win his approval if lawmakers adopt further changes to align the plan with his wishes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI laid out the eight or 10 things that I\u2019d like to see in that bill for it to get a signature on my desk,\u201d he told local TV station WMUR in an interview that aired on Sunday. \u201cIf they meet those stipulations, I\u2019ll sign it. If they don\u2019t, I won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFundamentally I don\u2019t really love this idea anyway,\u201d the governor added, but he said he sees legalization as \u201cinevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI just see that I do have a responsibility\u2014I don\u2019t have the luxury, I have more the responsibility\u2014of saying, \u2018Look, if we\u2019re going to legalize this at some point\u2014and do believe it\u2019s inevitable\u2014I have the responsibility of setting us up for the best long-term system that we possibly can,’\u201d Sununu said.<\/p>\n
The legalization proposal passed out of the House a month ago<\/a> and is now before a Senate panel. Late last month, opponents of the current version\u2014including Sen. Daryl Abbas (R) and Senate President Jeb Bradley (R)\u2014unveiled amendments that would revise major portions of the proposal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Among the proposed changes, one would increase penalties for public consumption, making second and subsequent offenses unspecified misdemeanors. That would expose people jail time in addition to a criminal record, an outcome critics said undercut the very purpose of legalization. Other adjustments would shift the bill\u2019s regulatory approach to a franchise system, under which the state\u2019s Liquor Commission would oversee the look, feel and operations of the 15 stores.<\/p>\n \u201cI know there\u2019s a few changes on the bill to be made,\u201d Sununu told<\/a> WMUR. \u201cIf the Senate makes those changes the way I\u2019ve laid the guidelines to be, then I\u2019d sign it.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill\u2019s sponsor, Rep. Erica Layon (R), has warned the Senate panel that it shouldn\u2019t assume that House lawmakers will sign off on any proposed changes, however.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to be careful that we don\u2019t take the House\u2019s support for granted,\u201d she said. \u201cGiven the fact that we need to agree between two bodies and also the person who signs the bill, there are a lot of constraints.\u201d<\/p>\n Layon also described the House-passed version of her bill as \u201ca delicate tightrope walk that will get us to where we need to be with perhaps the smallest of changes.\u201d<\/p>\n As for federal rescheduling, the WMUR report says Sununu \u201cdoesn\u2019t think this federal change will make much of a difference in the discussion at the state house.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe says the path forward on this issue remains straightforward,\u201d it said: \u201cLegalization on his terms or not at all.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time the bill, HB 1633, passed out of the House, a representative from Sununu\u2019s office said it wouldn\u2019t fly in that form<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cGovernor Sununu has been crystal clear about the framework needed for a legalization bill to earn his support, focusing on harm reduction and keeping it out of kids\u2019 hands,\u201d the governor\u2019s office said. \u201cThe legislation passed today doesn\u2019t get us there but the Governor looks forward to working with the Senate to see if we can get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n With only several months left in Sununu\u2019s term, supporters of legalization are also weighing how the governor\u2019s replacement would greet legalization. At least one possible successor, former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R)\u2014one of a handful of gubernatorial candidates that\u2019s entered the race\u2014said recently that she opposes legalizing marijuana for adults<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think legalizing marijuana is the right direction for our state,\u201d said Ayotte, who represented New Hampshire in the Senate from 2011 to 2017 and was previously the state\u2019s attorney general from 2004 to 2009.<\/p>\n As approved by the House,\u00a0HB 1633<\/a>\u00a0would allow 15 retail stores statewide and impose a 10 percent state charge on adult-use purchases. Medical marijuana would be exempt from the tax. Retailers would be regulated through a so-called \u201cagency store\u201d model, with significant restrictions on marketing and advertising.<\/p>\n Lawmakers worked extensively on marijuana reform issues last session and attempted to reach a compromise to enact legalization through a multi-tiered system that would include state-controlled shops, dual licensing for existing medical cannabis dispensaries and businesses privately licensed to individuals by state agencies. The legislature ultimately\u00a0hit an impasse on the complex legislation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bicameral lawmakers also convened the state commission tasked with studying legalization and proposing a path forward last year, though the group\u00a0ultimately failed to arrive at a consensus or propose final legislation<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Senate\u00a0defeated a more conventional House-passed legalization bill last year, HB 639, despite its bipartisan support<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last May, the House defeated marijuana legalization language that was included in a Medicaid expansion bill. The Senate also moved to table another piece of legislation that month that would have allowed patients and designated caregivers to cultivate up to three mature plants, three immature plants and 12 seedlings for personal therapeutic use.<\/p>\n After the Senate rejected the reform bills in 2022, the House included legalization language as an amendment to separate criminal justice-related legislation\u2014but\u00a0that was also struck down in the opposite chamber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Florida GOP Formally Opposes Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiative, Clearing Path For DeSantis To Fund \u2018Counter Message\u2019 Campaign<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo by Aphiwat chuangchoem<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post New Hampshire Governor Will Sign Marijuana Legalization Bill If Senate Makes Changes, He Says<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
With a House-passed marijuana legalization bill now pending in the New Hampshire Senate, Gov. Chris Sununu (R) is repeating his warning that the proposal will only win his approval if lawmakers adopt further changes to align the plan with his wishes. \u201cI laid out the eight or 10 things thatContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75055"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75055"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75056,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75055\/revisions\/75056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: New Hampshire Governor Will Sign Marijuana Legalization Bill If Senate Makes Changes, He Says<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"