New Hampshire House Passes Marijuana Legalization, Psilocybin Decriminalization And Medical Cannabis Expansion Bills

The New Hampshire House of Representatives has approved bills to legalize marijuana, decriminalize the use and possession of psilocybin by adults and double the amount of medical cannabis that state-registered patients can purchase and possess.

Members on Wednesday morning voted in favor of HB 198, from Rep. Jared Sullivan (D), which would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to two ounces of marijuana flower, 10 grams of concentrate and up to 2,000 milligrams of THC in other cannabis products.

Retail sales of marijuana products, along with home cultivation, would remain illegal. Consuming marijuana on public land would also be prohibited.

The legislation cleared the chamber in a vote of 208-125.

“It is 2025. Let’s stop arresting people and ruining their lives for possession of cannabis, something that many states in the country have already legalized,” Sullivan said ahead of the vote.

He noted that there seems to be a consensus that cannabis should be legal, even as there is lingering disagreement on how to regulate a market for sales.

“Once we get it legal, we can continue to have that debate. That seems to be where the sticking points [are]: Do we want it to be a private, industry-based model? Do we want to be a state-run model?” he said. “These things are where we’re getting kind of caught up in the weeds, and it seems like most people agree that we should legalize it.”

The House on Wednesday also passed HB 528, from Rep. Kevin Verville (R), which in its current form would lessen the state’s penalties around psilocybin.

Under the plan, a first psilocybin offense would be a violation, subject to a fine of $100 or less.

Second and third psilocybin offenses, meanwhile, would be class B misdemeanors, carrying fines of up to $500 and $1,000, respectively, but with no risk of jail time. Fourth and subsequent offenses would remain classified as felonies.

Sales and distribution of the substance would still be illegal, as the reform would apply only to “a person 18 years of age or older who obtains, purchases, transports, possesses, or uses psilocybin.”

As originally introduced, the legislation would have completely removed penalties around obtaining, purchasing, transporting, possessing or using psilocybin, effectively legalizing it on a noncommercial basis. However a House committee amended the bill before unanimously advancing it earlier this month.

Verville told Marijuana Moment that the House’s passage of his psilocybin bill is “an historic, albeit small first step on our journey to correct 60 years of demonstrably failed policy on psychedelics.”

“This bipartisan, common sense legislation will end the decades long terror of becoming a felon for possession of mushrooms that grow naturally in New Hampshire, North America, and across the globe,” he said. “Our fight is far from over. Our attention will now turn to the NH Senate, in hopes of having them concur with the position of the House, and then beseech our governor to allow the bill to pass into law.”

House lawmakers on Wednesday also approved HB 190, from Rep. Heath Howard (D), which would increase the possession limit of medical marijuana by patients and caregivers, raising it to four ounces from the current two. Existing 10-day patient purchase limits would also increase from two ounces up to four.

The psilocybin and medical cannabis expansion bills were passed as part of the chamber’s consent calendar without floor debate and were not given roll call votes. All three House-passed reform bills now proceed to the Senate for consideration.

Another cannabis-related proposal, meanwhile, is set for action in the House this week: HB 380, from Rep. Suzanne Vail (D)—to adjust penalties around sales of medical cannabis to people who are not qualifying patients or caregivers.

Earlier this week, a Senate committee took testimony on four other House-passed bills related to cannabis, among them plans around medical homegrow, annulment of past convictions, adult-use legalization and allowing existing dispensaries buy commercial hemp cannabinoids.

It’s widely believed that New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) would stand in the way of any adult-use legalization bill that were to make it to her desk this session, however. A former U.S. senator and state attorney general, Ayotte said repeatedly on the campaign trail last year that she would oppose efforts at adult-use legalization.

New Hampshire lawmakers nearly passed legislation last session that would have legalized and regulated marijuana for adults—a proposal that then-Gov. Chris Sununu (R) had indicated he’d support. But infighting over how the market would be set up ultimately scuttled that proposal. House Democrats narrowly voted to table it at the last minute, taking issue with the proposal’s state-controlled franchise model, which would have given the state unprecedented sway over retail stores and consumer prices.

A poll from last June found that almost two thirds (65 percent) of New Hampshire residents supported legalizing marijuana. Nearly that same share of residents (61 percent) said at the time that they also supported last session’s failed legalization bill, HB 1633.

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Image element courtesy of Kristie Gianopulos.