The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled public hearings on four cannabis bills for tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday, April 15). The hearings will take place in Room 100 of the State House beginning at 1:10pm. Here is the schedule:
- 1:10pm: HB 301 (Vail) would allow ATCs to operate a second cultivation location, which would have to be a greenhouse, subject to all the rules and regulations that apply to current ATC production facilities. (Currently all cultivation must take place indoors.) The House passed it in a voice vote.
- 1:20pm: HB 190 (Howard) would increase the purchase and possession limit for therapeutic cannabis from 2 ounces to 4 ounces. The House passed it in a voice vote.
- 1:30pm: HB 380 (Vail) would eliminate the extra felony penalty for diverting therapeutic cannabis. (Selling cannabis is a felony for anybody in N.H., so patients could face two felony charges for the same offense.) The House passed it in a voice vote.
- 1:40pm: HB 198 (Sullivan) would legalize possession of up to two ounces of cannabis for adults. It would also establish civil penalties for public smoking or vaping (a 3rd offense within 5 years could be charged as a misdemeanor). The House passed it 208-125.
The committee will allow members of the public to speak on any of these bills. The chair may limit each person’s testimony to approximately three minutes. Although the hearings are scheduled in 10-minute increments, the committee will usually listen to testimony from all who sign up. For those who attend in person, there will be a sign-in sheet in the committee room for each bill where you can sign up to testify or simply indicate your position on the bill.
If you can’t attend the hearings in person, it’s easy to sign in and register your support from home. Just visit the Senate’s remote sign-in page and follow these simple steps:
- Select the date (April 15)
- Select the committee (Judiciary)
- Select the bill number
- Indicate your position on the bill and (optionally) share any comments or written testimony
Finally, if you’d like to share your thoughts directly with the five senators who serve on this committee, visit this page and click “email entire committee.”
Other Cannabis Bills Still Pending, Contact Your Senator!
Unfortunately, the Senate Judiciary Committee has voted in opposition to three of the four cannabis bills that have already received public hearings. (They have not taken action yet on the fourth bill). These bills are still alive, however, and all four will receive votes in the full Senate:
- HB 51 (Thomas) would enable ATCs to expand product offerings by utilizing affordable 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, to ensure safety. The House approved this bill in a unanimous vote without objection or debate. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-1 to recommend against this bill’s passage.
- HB 53 (Thomas) would allow home cultivation of therapeutic cannabis for qualifying patients and designated caregivers to cultivate limited amounts. The limit would be 3 mature plants, 3 immature plants, and 12 seedlings for each patient. The House passed this bill by a very large margin, 328-42. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-1 to recommend against this bill’s passage.
- HB 196 (Wheeler) would improve New Hampshire’s cannabis annulment law by removing the fee, allowing for a more streamlined process, and applying it to any misdemeanor and violation-level cannabis possession record from before January 1, 2025. The House passed it in a voice vote. The Senate Judiciary Committee has not yet voted on this bill.
- HB 75 (Verville) would legalize unlimited possession, cultivation, and sale of cannabis for adults with no regulation of sales. This bill passed the House in a voice vote. However, it seems extremely unlikely that the Senate will take this bill seriously due to its lack of limits or regulations. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-1 to recommend against this bill’s passage.
If you’d like to support any of these bills that have already had public hearings, the best thing to do is email or call your state senator. You can find your senator’s contact information by selecting your town from the drop-down box on this page.
Here are a few tips for writing an effective email to your state senator:
- Focus on sharing personal experiences that illustrate how the bills you are writing about would benefit you or others.
- Include the bill numbers for any bill you are asking them to support.
- Always be polite and respectful. Legislators do not respond favorably to insulting or belittling communications.
- Include your name and town so they will know you are a constituent.
