Last week, we informed you about eleven new cannabis bills in the New Hampshire House. All but one of these bills are now scheduled for public hearings on either Wednesday, January 22, or Thursday, January 23.
Hearings Scheduled for 1/22
Five therapeutic cannabis bills have been scheduled for hearings in the House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee on Wednesday, January 22. These hearings will take place in Room 201 of the Legislative Office Building in Concord (33 N. State St.):
- 9:30am: HB 51 (Thomas) would enable ATCs to expand their product offerings by utilizing non-intoxicating cannabinoids (e.g. CBD, CBG, and CBN) derived from hemp. ATCs would be required to have hemp-derived cannabinoids tested by an independent lab before using them to make products for patients.
- 10:15am: HB 53 (Thomas) would allow qualifying patients and designated caregivers to cultivate limited amounts of cannabis for therapeutic use. The limit would be 3 mature plants, 3 immature plants, and 12 seedlings for each patient.
- 11:15am: HB 205 (Howard) would waive the $50 patient registration fee for veterans who apply to the Therapeutic Cannabis Program.
- 1:00pm: HB 301 (Vail) would allow ATCs to operate a second cultivation location, which could be a greenhouse, subject to all the rules and regulations that apply to current ATC production facilities. (Currently all cultivation must take place indoors.)
- 1:45pm: HB 54 (Thomas) would allow ATCs to convert from non-profit to for-profit.
Hearings Scheduled for 1/23
Five more bills have been scheduled for hearings in the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on Thursday, January 23. These hearings will take place in Room 202-204 of the Legislative Office Building:
- 10:00am: HB 75 (Verville) would legalize unlimited possession of cannabis for adults with no regulation of retail sales.
- 11:00am: HB 190 (Howard) would increase the purchase and possession limit for therapeutic cannabis from 2 ounces to 4 ounces.
- Noon: HB 196 (Wheeler) would create a process for automatically annulling previous offenses for cannabis possession. It would also create opportunities for resentencing and for discontinuing some current prosecutions.
- 1:30pm: HB 198 (Sullivan) would legalize limited amounts of cannabis for adults with no retail sales.
- 3:30pm: HB 380 (Vail) would eliminate the extra felony penalty for diverting therapeutic cannabis. (Selling any form of cannabis is a felony in NH).
How You Can Help
It’s very important that legislators hear from patients who would be affected by these bills. Here are four ways you can make an impact:
(1) Sign in to indicate your position to the committee.
It’s easy to sign in and register your position on a bill from home. Just visit the House’s remote sign-in page and follow these simple steps for each bill you care about. You can do this now or anytime before the public hearings.
(2) Testify at the hearing or submit comments remotely.
If you’d like to testify in person, you can sign up in the committee room before the hearings. Due to time constraints, it’s best to limit testimony to no more than three minutes per person.
If you’d like to submit written testimony or simply share your comments with the committee, you can do so via the House’s remote sign-in page.
(3) Call or email your state representative(s).
If you don’t already know your state representative(s), you can look them up and find their contact information here. Sending a personal email takes more time than signing in via the web portal, but it is well worth doing. If legislators don’t hear from patients who benefit from therapeutic cannabis, they may never understand why the Therapeutic Cannabis Program is so valuable and important.
You can also call your representative(s) and share your thoughts on these bills. Please note that, unlike state senators, N.H. representatives do not have staff who answer phone calls for them. If you call a state representative, the number listed will likely be their home or cell number.
IMPORTANT: If you decide to testify at the public hearing or communicate with elected officials, please be courteous and respectful. Elected officials tend to respond unfavorably if advocates seem disrespectful.
(4) Tell your friends
Do your friends care about sensible and compassionate cannabis policies? If so, please share the link to our blog and encourage them to take action.
