Marijuana Policy Project

Governor Kills Legislature’s Medical Marijuana Buzz

For several months, lawmakers in New Hampshire tried to hash out a bill that would have made their state the 14th in the nation to legalize medical marijuana.

The bill, which would have permitted doctors to prescribe the drug to their patients, had passed 232-108 in the New Hampshire House and 14-10 in the Senate in late June.

Advocates said the bill’s passage in the legislature was a reflection of the overwhelming support for medical marijuana among New Hampshire residents.

"There was a tipping point that was reached," said Matt Simon, executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy. "And the legislature agreed with 70 percent of the New Hampshire people."

A seven-member committee amended the bill to appease Gov. John Lynch (D) by requiring non-profit state-licensed and regulated dispensaries—"compassion centers"—to carefully control the distribution of marijuana.

The modifications, though, were not enough to keep Lynch from vetoing the bill, citing concerns that it would not pass federal muster.

"We did our very best to cover the concerns he had originally," said New Hampshire Rep. Evalyn Merrick (D), the primary sponsor of the bill. "This bill is probably the best medical marijuana legislation in the country."

Despite the failure of the bill in New Hampshire, advocates are optimistic about the fate of medical marijuana legislation elsewhere in the country.

"In the future, and not too far in the future, people will look back at this era as they do at the era in which people were burned as witches," said Bruce Mirken, Director of Communications for the Marijuana Policy Project. "It does feel like it’s within striking distance."

Assembly Member Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan) and State Sen. Thomas Duane (D-Manhattan), chairs of their respective Health committees, were ready to strike before the Senate coup changed plans to push for votes on legalization legislation in both chambers.

"If June 8 had not happened, there’s a good chance it would have been signed into law by now," Gottfried said. "This bill is one of the more important of the many bills that got derailed."

Similar to the way in which the New Hampshire Legislature amended its bill to quell Lynch’s concerns, Gottfried introduced a new version of his own legislation, hoping to gain support from Senate Republicans.

The new bill requires dispensaries similar to New Hampshire’s compassion centers and does not allow patients to grow their own marijuana.

"We put that in with the notion that it might be accessible to more members of the Senate," Gottfried said.

Gottfried believes that when put to a vote, the bill will have the support of both houses as well as Gov. David Paterson (D).

"So far, we’ve only had good encouragement from the Paterson administration," he said. "And having the Senate back in business with a Democratic majority is highly encouraging."

In the meantime, advocates think that the moment for marijuana in New York has finally arrived.

"One state every year has added a medical marijuana law," said Dan Bernath, assistant director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project. "There’s never been so much support for this in the Senate. Now it’s time to move."