H.B. 442, New Hampshire’s medical marijuana bill, advances to full House!

Published: March 9, 2011

The medical marijuana momentum train keeps a chuggin’, and the first stop is New Hampshire. H.B. 442, comprehensive and compassionate medical marijuana legislation, received an “ought to pass” report from the Republican-controlled House Health, Human Services, & Elderly Affairs Committee today, with a 14-3 vote. Thank you to everyone who testified at the hearing! It will head next to the full House for a vote. The sponsor, cancer survivor Rep. Evalyn Merrick (D-Coos), also sponsored a 2009 bill that strongly passed both chambers before Gov. Lynch vetoed it.

Ask your representative to support medical marijuana bill, H.B. 442! Your representatives need to hear from you before they vote, especially because many of them are new.

H.B. 442 would protect qualified patients and caregivers possessing state-issued registry identification cards and no more than two ounces of medical marijuana from arrest. It would also allow the state to license up to three not-for-profit alternative treatment centers to dispense marijuana less than eight months after passage.

In other great news, H.B. 484, which would have randomly drug tested food stamp recipients and denied them benefits for two years if they failed two drug tests, was found “inexpedient to legislate” in committee, dimming its chances for passage.

Thanks for your support!