Pubdate: Thu, 14 Mar 2013
Source: Concord Monitor (NH)
Copyright: 2013 Monitor Publishing Company
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/WbpFSdHB
Website: http://www.concordmonitor.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/767
Author: Ben Leubsdorf

MARIJUANA-LEGALIZATION LEGISLATION DIES IN N.H. HOUSE

Legislation to legalize marijuana in New Hampshire met a swift end 
yesterday, when the House voted to kill the bill without any debate.

The House, where Democrats hold a majority, voted, 239-112, to kill the bill.

The vote didn't fall along party lines. Some 135 Democrats and 104 
Republicans voted to kill the bill, while 61 Democrats and 51 
Republicans voted in support of it.

If it had become law, the legislation would have removed references 
to marijuana from the state's drug control laws as of Jan. 1.

Marijuana would still be illegal under federal law. But New Hampshire 
would have followed in the footsteps of Colorado and Washington 
state, where voters last year approved ballot initiatives to allow 
the recreational use of marijuana.

The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee was divided on the 
bill, recommending the full House kill it on a 12-8 vote. Opponents 
noted it would have run counter to federal law, while supporters said 
prohibition of marijuana isn't working.

The House will consider two more marijuana bills later this month.

One would decriminalize possession of less than an ounce of 
marijuana. The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted, 
12-6, to recommend the full House kill that bill.

The second bill would legalize the medicinal use of marijuana for 
seriously ill and terminal patients. The Health, Human Services and 
Elderly Affairs Committee endorsed it on a 14-1 vote.

Also yesterday, the House passed a bill to legalize industrial hemp. 
Hemp can be used to make rope, fabric and other products  though, 
like marijuana, it is derived from the cannabis plant.

The legislation was approved on a voice vote. A similar bill passed 
the House last year but died after the Senate sent it to interim study.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom