Lawmakers in New Hampshire are already preparing for a new legislative session on marijuana policy.
Several legalization proposals of the plant have been revealed in recent days, including one from a key Republican committee chairman.
With two days until the new year, at least six measures to legalize cannabis for adult use have been pre-filed for 2022 in the state. Three of those seek to put the question of reform directly before voters on next year’s ballot.
Rep. Daryl Abbas (R), the chairman of the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety is sponsoring one of the bills. While he has opposed past marijuana reform bills, he says he’d be open to the policy change if it’s done “correctly” in his view.
He is sponsoring legislation, HB 1598, which would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to four ounces of cannabis from state-run dispensaries operated by the New Hampshire Liquor Commission. Home cultivation would continue to be criminalized.
Three other lawmakers—Reps. Joshua Adjutant (D), Renny Cushing (D) and Andrew Prout (R)—have each filed separate bills to put marijuana legalization on the state’s 2022 ballot.
It would take a supermajority 60 percent vote in both chambers to advance any of the proposed constitutional amendments.
Voters would be asked whether to adopt the following language to the state Constitution if the measures advance through the legislature:
Adjutant: “The general court of this state shall make no law infringing on the right to the use, sale, or cultivation of cannabis for persons over 18 years of age.”
Cushing: “All adults shall have the right to possess cannabis intended for their personal consumption.”
Prout: “All adults have the right to possess, use, and cultivate cannabis; subject to regulations or taxes on commercial activity as the general court may impose.”
“Representatives who support legalization will have several options to choose from in 2022,” Matt Simon, director of public and government relations at Prime Alternative Treatment Centers of New Hampshire, said to Marijuana Moment. “It will be interesting to see which ideas gain traction and which ones don’t.”
