Victory! N.H. House passes bill to reduce marijuana penalties

MPP would like to thank everyone who took time to write and call your representatives. It is clear that your efforts had a major effect on the representatives. We would especially like to thank Matt Simon and everyone with N.H. Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy. Matt and his dedicated volunteers have worked tirelessly to convince the representatives to support this sensible bill. And, of course, we want to thank Reps. Jeffrey Fontas (D-Nashua), Andrew Edwards (D-Nashua), and Charles Weed (D-Keene) for sponsoring HB 1623; Rep. Jason Bedrick (R-Windham) for speaking in favor of the bill during the House debate; and all of the representatives who had the courage to vote to overturn the committee recommendation.

While this victory is a major step forward in New Hampshire's efforts to reform their marijuana laws, we cannot stop yet. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. Since the Senate has not considered a bill to reduce marijuana penalties anytime recently, we will need to educate them on this bill and show them that the public supports it.

The bill has already received significant media coverage, including stories in the Nashua Telegraph, Concord Monitor, and Union Leader. Please respond to these stories with supportive letters to the editor. You can e-mail Zane@mpp.org for talking points or help with your letter. It's very important that the senators and Gov. Lynch see lots of supportive letters to the editor.

This is a major step toward ending one of the most outdated and cruel marijuana possession laws in the country. Please help spread the word about it and pass this message on to your friends, family, and e-mail lists. Thank you for supporting MPP and our allies.