Bill to Legalize Recreational Marijuana Passes in the New Hampshire House of Representatives
The future of marijuana in the United States
By Lily Coady
The Progressive Teen Staff Writer
O N FEBRUARY 22ND, New Hampshire’s House of Representatives voted to approve the legalization of recreational marijuana use with possession up to one ounce. The 209–147 vote comes after a thorough study by an investigative committee and growing support of legalization in the state.
While the vote has been recognized as a step in the right direction by more progressive New Hampshirites, the bill is somewhat controversial amidst combating the state’s issue with opioid addiction. Rep. Stephen Pearson (R), who was among the 147 representatives who opposed the bill, cited the Opioid Crisis as his reason to vote against the proposal.
“We are not going to solve our drug crisis by legalizing more drugs, that is a fundamentally flawed argument,” Pearson said in an interview with New Hampshire Public Radio.
Other representatives who opposed the bill were concerned about its impact on the overall health of citizens, especially children and teenagers who could potentially fall susceptible to addiction with the substance being more easily accessible.
On the other hand, many representatives have embraced the benefits that will come with the legalization of marijuana. Rep. Kat McGhee (D) voted against the bill to reflect the wishes of a constituent who had written her a long and impassioned letter on why she should oppose it. As his Representative, she chose to honor these wishes.
“I told him that I wouldn’t [vote in favor of the bill], but I knew that it was going to pass,” says McGhee. “I knew there was overwhelming support for the bill.”
McGhee is nevertheless happy with the results of the bill, particularly the economic benefits that it may supply for the state.
“I would like to see us generate the revenue because the budgets are just awful,” McGhee laughed. “Republicans have been an anti-tax party for a very long time, and at some point it reaches an end… Everything is on the property tax payers.”
The economic benefits are not the only upsides that citizens may experience with the possible legalization of marijuana. In debating the bill, supporting representatives argued that having the government regulate marijuana will protect it from being laced, or tainted, with more dangerous, illegal drugs. Citizens are using marijuana despite it being illegal in the state. If regulated by the government, these citizens will not only be able to use marijuana legally but also (and more importantly) be able to use it safely.
Rep. Renny Cushing (D) called the vote “historic,” as “for the first time in history the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted to recommend that we put an end to the prohibition of cannabis and enact a law to provide for the legalization, regulation, and taxation,” Cushing said in an interview with NHPR.
If the bill passes the in the Senate and dodges a veto from Republican Governor Chris Sununu, New Hampshire will join the ten other states that have already passed the legalization of recreational marijuana. Three of these states are bordering New Hampshire itself: Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts, which are all classified as blue states. New Hampshire is classified as a swing state.
With the upcoming presidential election, there have been talks about federal action to make recreational marijuana legal across the country. Senator and Presidential Candidate Cory Booker (D-NJ) has made legalization of marijuana one of his campaign’s priorities. He is also the face of the Marijuana Justice Act, which would remove marijuana from the Federal Controlled Substances Act. The bill is vehemently supported by fellow candidates Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
“It means changing our drug laws, ending prohibition against marijuana, which has led — black folks are no different in their usage rates or even the dealing rates, but are almost four times more likely to be incarcerated for marijuana,” Booker said in an interview on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. “We do not have equal justice under the law.”
New Hampshire now awaits for the bill’s vote in the Senate, and then its discussion with Governor Chris Sununu. Perhaps the state will legalize recreational marijuana just in time for the 2020 Presidential Election, where it may end up, thereafter, being legalized in every state.
