New Hampshire Legalization Bill Up for Vote Wednesday

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The House of Representatives in New Hampshire could vote this Wednesday on a bill modeled after Colorado’s Amendment 64 that would legalize recreational marijuana.

The bill would allow anyone 21 and over to possess up to one ounce of marijuana. It would also propose a $30 per-ounce tax on the sale of recreational marijuana and allow people to grow up to six plants for their own use.

New Hampshire’s House of Representatives has never voted on a legalization bill, however various committees have discussed the proposed policy. In October 2013, the House’ Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted 11-7 against the bill, which prevented it from going to a full House vote.

If the bill passes in the House, it would then go to New Hampshire’s Senate for another vote. But the Senate hasn’t been so kind to marijuana legislation; in 2013 it rejected a bill to decriminalize the possession of up to a quarter of an ounce of the plant.

New Hampshire legalized medical marijuana in 2013 with a very limited market of four dispensaries.

The recreational law, if passed, would not be implemented until July at the earliest. Based on the history of implementing the legalization bills in Colorado and Washington, the New Hampshire bill would likely take many more months to be fully implemented.