More than a year after Massachusetts decriminalized marijuana possession, New Hampshire lawmakers are thinking about doing the same - -- or even taxing and regulating cannabis.

The ailing economy and budgetary crisis are prompting legislators to take a second or, at least, a longer look at House Bill 1652.

This proposal would allow adults to possess 1 ounce or less, provide for state regulation, and tax marijuana's wholesale and retail sale.

Prime sponsor Rep. Calvin Pratt, R-Goffstown, said he doesn't expect it to become law this year, but if tough economic challenges linger, the bill may be approved in years to come.

[continues 1174 words]

EPPING - A police officer who was called "unstable" by fellow officers and described by his chief as someone who "shouldn't wear the badge" of a law enforcement agency says he'll be back on the job tomorrow.

Officer Bradley Jardis is returning to work after passing a psychological evaluation ordered by selectmen who refused to fire him despite Police Chief Gregory Dodge's recommendation that he be terminated. 09n03bradleyJardis_70px

Jardis, 29, of Hooksett, is returning to the force after being suspended and placed on paid leave following an internal investigation. The probe resulted from a disagreement between him and then-Sgt. Sean Gallagher over the handling of a case last July.

[continues 364 words]

Marijuana was in the news in New Hampshire in 2009.

Hollis farmer David Orde's arrest for growing pot drew widespread interest, and the spotlight was later trained on the state Legislature after it tried to legalize marijuana for medical use.

Orde, 54, was arrested in July 2008 on felony marijuana-growing charges after a Hollis police officer went to serve him with a complaint for failing to license his dog. After getting no answer at the main door, the officer went around to the side of the house at 2 Blood Road and spotted 16 marijuana plants growing in pots on a deck.

[continues 258 words]

LYNDEBOROUGH -- Carl Hedberg calls himself a "cannabis care coach," and he's on a mission to help others reduce their pain.

Four years ago, Hedberg, 53, had exhausted all methods to try to alleviate his chronic migraines. Over-the-counter and prescribed medication weren't working. In an effort to find a successful alternative that would also decrease his use of pharmaceutical painkillers, he began to do research.

He discovered Dr. Lester Grinspoon's books, which outlined the positive and negative uses of medicinal marijuana. After meeting with him, Hedberg, who said he had used marijuana recreationally in college, decided to take small doses of it for his headaches. It was a success.

[continues 1020 words]

Chances are you've done it. Or if you haven't, chances are you know someone who does. Chances are your mom and dad did it back in the day-maybe they still do.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, it's the country's most commonly used illegal substance. And chances are, you still don't like to discuss it-but there's a new student organization in town that wants to change the way we talk about pot.

The new UNH chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law is setting out to educate students about their rights, and to work from the ground up on reforming marijuana law.

[continues 496 words]

EPPING - A suspended police officer who is fighting to keep his job will plead his case at a public hearing before selectmen Monday night.

Bradley Jardis is challenging a 6-day suspension from early August and a recommendation made by police Chief Gregory Dodge two weeks ago that Jardis be fired.

The hearing begins at 7:15 p.m. during the regular selectmen's meeting in town hall.

Personnel matters are generally discussed behind closed doors in a non-public session, but in an unusual move, Jardis waived his right to a private hearing and requested that it be open to the public.

[continues 326 words]

EPPING - A local police officer fighting his suspension may not get the public hearing he wanted to air his complaints.

Selectmen have rejected a request by Officer Bradley Jardis for a hearing before the board.

In a letter dated Oct. 26, Tom Gauthier, chairman of the board of selectmen, wrote that the board turned down the request because it wasn't "written, delivered or filed" in a timely manner.

Jardis is challenging Police Chief Gregory Dodge's decision last month to uphold a six-day suspension brought against him in July. The suspension followed an internal investigation into a dispute between Jardis and then-Sgt. Sean Gallagher and an e-mail that Jardis sent to police union members which police Lt. Michael Wallace felt contained "inflammatory" language directed at him and Detective Richard Cote.

[continues 284 words]

EPPING - A local police officer who claims he has been targeted because of his involvement with a group that wants to legalize drugs has been suspended from the force.

Officer Bradley Jardis said he was told Monday that he was being suspended with pay pending an investigation.

Police Chief Gregory Dodge would not comment on the suspension, but Jardis said he believes it resulted from his decision to go public with disciplinary action taken against him in July and claims that he has been ridiculed by certain Epping police personnel because he's a member of an international organization called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

[continues 531 words]

The state Senate voted Wednesday against overriding Governor Lynch's veto of a bill that would have legalized the use of medical marijuana by severely ill patients whose doctors recommend the drug.

After being passed in the House by a margin of 240-115, the effort to override the veto came to an end in the Senate, where the override fell short by just two votes.

If passed, the override would have made New Hampshire. the 14th state in the country to legalize marijuana use for severely ill patients.

[continues 285 words]

Gov. John Lynch's veto of the medical marijuana bill fell short of an override in the Senate this week. It was just as well. Now the Legislature and the governor can revisit the measure and come up with something that better represents the interests of the people of New Hampshire.

Lynch took issue with the wording of the measure, citing concerns over distribution and cultivation. He also objected to the bill not clearly restricting marijuana use to people suffering severe pain, seizures or nausea.

[continues 473 words]

CONCORD - The determined opposition of nine state Senate Republicans and one Democrat blocked New Hampshire from becoming one of 14 states that legalized the possession of marijuana by chronically ill patients and their caregivers.

Wednesday's 14-10 vote to override Gov. John Lynch's July veto of the bill fell two votes shy of the super-majority needed to defy Lynch's action and pass the bill into law.

After three months of private lobbying, no minds were changed as the Senate vote was identical to the one when it sent the measure to Lynch's desk back in May.

[continues 981 words]

U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte recently sent a mass mailer to select New Hampshire voters declaring that "doctors and patients should be making decisions on health care, not bureaucrats." Perhaps this means she has changed her position on HB 648, the medical marijuana bill which she opposed so strenuously earlier this year when she was attorney general?

The bill, which faces its final vote Oct. 28, would have faced few hurdles if Ayotte and her office had not opposed it so vociferously.

[continues 151 words]

KEENE - Councilors voted Thursday night to send letters to state lawmakers expressing their individual opinions on decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The 9-5 vote came in response to a request made last month by retired Keene police officer and former city councilman Frederick Parsells. He had asked councilors to write a resolution advising legislators that the city backs decriminalization.

The resolution would have had no legal weight; its intent was to send a strong message to Concord, Parsells said.

[continues 119 words]

But Afternoon Rally Stays Trouble-Free

People again lit up for marijuana legalization in Keene's Central Square Friday in a protest that's given new meaning to the word "grassroots."

Drivers honked. A sign proclaimed pot safer than prison. Even the soldier statue in Central Square got into the act with a sign that read "4:20 Everyday."

During the ganja-happy gathering that's recently become a daily event downtown, people congregate to smoke at 4:20 p.m., a number identified with the marijuana subculture.

[continues 703 words]

KEENE - As city councilors debate a resolution to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana, a small group has quietly taken matters into their own hands -- lighting up on Central Square.

"Every day at 4:20 p.m., we get together to smoke pot in the square," Noah Wood, 19, of Keene said yesterday. "Everyone smokes it. Well maybe not everyone, I'm sure, but a lot of people smoke it and so why keep it a secret? Why keep it illegal? It should be out in the open."

[continues 930 words]

Unless you hid under a rock all summer, you know most Americans don't want government interference in their health care.

Democrats and Republicans may have their differences, but there is universal agreement that decisions regarding medical treatments must be exclusively between the doctor and patient. If a doctor and patient agree on a particular course of treatment, then the patient should be permitted to access that treatment, and neither the government nor insurance companies should have any business blocking this process. All agree?

[continues 596 words]

I suggest strongly that marijuana be made legal. As long as it isn't, a few people are making the big money.

It should be taxed the same way that cigarettes are. And the price should be the same as cigarettes.

Please understand, I am not suggesting that people should smoke. I did. I had no problem stopping - I just waited too long! Now I shall be on oxygen for the rest of my life.

The rules for marijuana should be the same as for cigarettes: only allowed for people of certain ages and in certain places.

The tax revenue could be used for green projects - solar power, wind power, cars that run on electricity. Think about it!

Marilyn Winney

Hillsboro

[end]

Dear honorable representatives of the American people:

The so-called "drug war" is a blatantly dishonest, extremely expensive, highly destructive, grossly unjust, abject failure of our government.

Despite 30 years and more than a trillion dollars of taxpayer money spent trying to stop - not robbery, not rape, not murder, not even shoplifting - but trying to stop adults from using certain arbitrarily banned drugs, despite draconian punishments, despite currently jailing 500,000 nonviolent American citizens, despite tens of thousands of prohibition-related murders, these drugs are cheaper, purer and more readily available than ever.

[continues 690 words]

I'm responding to the outstanding op-ed by Dennis Acton on July 5 titled "Republicans would be wise to support medical marijuana, too."

I'd like to add that one of the medications prescribed by my personal physician for my arthritis pain and inflammation has the rare potential side effect of death.

In other words, if I take this medication as prescribed, I can die as a result.

On the other hand, marijuana has never been documented to kill a single person in the 5,000-year history of its use.

[continues 73 words]

Gov. John Lynch closed the door on the legal use of medical marijuana this month when he vetoed a bill that would have made New Hampshire the 14th state to legalize its use - but he didn't lock it. His veto message ended with regret that he couldn't sign the bill into law.

The governor claims that the bill, despite monumental efforts by lawmakers to revise it to meet his concerns, still contains too many flaws. Since the law would be the toughest of any state that sanctions the use of medical marijuana, those concerns are almost certainly overblown.

[continues 479 words]