CONCORD The near-perennial campaign to legalize medical use of marijuana got off to its best start ever with the 14-1 endorsement from a key House committee Thursday.

The biggest change inside a 26-page rewrite on the issue was a marketing one, dubbing it "therapeutic cannabis" at the urging of the state's medical lobby that remains opposed to the bill.

"I'm perfectly fine with it. I don't care if we call it pretzels as long as it gets this in the hands of those with debilitating illness who really need it," said Matt Simon who is the state's legislative lobbyist for the Marijuana Policy Project.

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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - As New Hampshire again considers whether to legalize medical marijuana, neighboring states offer lessons about enforcement of the law, dispensaries and the complexities of implementing such a law.

The New Hampshire legislature has passed three medical marijuana bills in previous years, all vetoed by former Gov. John Lynch. This time, Gov. Maggie Hassan's endorsement could tip the scales. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia already allow people who are sick or in chronic pain to legally buy and use medical marijuana, but laws vary widely. Medical marijuana became legal in Massachusetts Jan. 1, but state health officials have until May 1 to issue regulations.

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To alleviate the suffering of the seriously sick and terminally ill, New Hampshire, should join the rest of the New England states and decriminalize the controlled use of marijuana for medical purposes.

The New Hampshire Medical Society, the state Department of Safety, the police chiefs association and attorney general all oppose legalizing the use of medical marijuana, but the concerns they cite aren't weighty enough to tip the scales against the passage of Exeter Democratic Rep. Donna Schlachman's bill. Eighteen states have legalized the use of medical marijuana, and legislation is pending in eight more, including New Hampshire. What experience elsewhere shows is that to work as intended, and not lead to the proliferation of marijuana users, strict controls are required. Those controls should extend to patients, caregivers, marijuana dispensaries and physicians.

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In recent years, 18 states have authorized the use of marijuana for medical purposes, principally for palliative care for dreadfully painful conditions, and nine more are now considering such a move. New Hampshire is in this latter group with House Bill 573, a piece of legislation that is carefully drawn and deserving of support.

The bill is similar in many ways to legislation that's become law in every other New England state: It calls for registration of patients and close monitoring of cultivation, requires that qualifying patients first try other forms of relief, and sets strict rules about the financial relationships between prescribing doctors and treatment centers. The language of the bill runs close to 30 pages, and is vastly more detailed than the first such legalization in the land, in California in 1996; the law there is so spare and open-ended that the number of medical marijuana users is unknown, but is believed to exceed half a million people.

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As the saying goes, there is nothing certain other than death and taxes. However, there are things that may be inevitable. Such has been the drive to recognize gay marriage and to come to terms with the notion that abortion is here to stay.

But the list doesn't necessarily end there.

Now with a handful of bills getting due consideration in the New Hampshire Legislature to legalize the use of marijuana, we have to wonder if inevitability has grabbed hold now that the "flower power" generation is taking charge.

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For some of the patients, law enforcement officials and advocates who spoke during a nearly four-hour House committee hearing yesterday on medical marijuana, it wasn't their first time. Similar bills have passed the Legislature twice in the last four years, only to fall to gubernatorial vetoes.

But there was a sense yesterday at the House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee that this could be the year New Hampshire joins the rest of New England in allowing the medicinal use of marijuana, despite the fact it remains illegal under federal law.

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CONCORD Clayton Holton, 27, of Rochester, suffers from advanced Duchenne muscular dystrophy that's left him at 66 pounds and for years the only gotten relief he's found has come from smoking, illegally, marijuana.

Holton gave emotional testimony to a House committee Thursday on legislation to legalize marijuana use for those suffering with a debilitating illness and warned he can't wait any longer for the Legislature to act.

"I've been coming to these hearings for six years now and the same arguing comes out for and against and it's not getting anywhere," Holton said during the 3 -1/2 hour hearing. "It's coming towards the end of my time. This may be the absolutely last time I can make it here."

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State lawmakers filed bills promoting a wide range of marijuana legalization this session, bills that have received widely varying reactions.

At one end, a bill with broad support would allow people with certain chronic illnesses to use marijuana. At the other, a bill treats the cannabis plant like any cultivated vegetable or herb.

Gov. Maggie Hassan supports allowing regulated access to medical marijuana "with controlled and limited dispensing," but does not support legalization or decriminalization, according to her spokesman, Marc Goldberg.

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Less Likely Decriminalization Proposals Would Pass

Supporters of medical marijuana legislation are hopeful state lawmakers will approve the measure - and the new governor will follow.

Proponents know the legislation has a better chance of passing since former Gov. John Lynch left office. The four-term Democratic governor was a staunch opponent of marijuana legislation, vowing to veto any bill that hit his desk.

Newly elected Gov. Maggie Hassan said she's willing to consider signing a marijuana medical bill into law, but opposes decriminalization.

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New Governor Hassan More Likely to Sign Bill Than Her Predecessor Was

CONCORD, N.H. - At 27, Clayton Holton of Rochester is 5 feet 11 but weighs only 66 pounds.

Holton suffers from a rare form of muscular dystrophy that causes wasting syndrome and complete muscle loss. He has been in a wheelchair since he was 10. He struggles even to eat.

Six years ago, he ended up in a hospital and then a nursing home where he was given Oxycontin. Then friends helped him visit California, where medical use of marijuana is legal. He started using it for pain relief, and he gained 8 pounds.

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Drug tests for welfare is something I've been waiting for.

Many job applications require you to take and pass a drug test. If someone has to pass a drug test to go to work every day to earn a living, shouldn't it be the same for someone getting assistance from the welfare system?

I believe, though, that the cost needs to be covered by the program because $45 when you have nothing is a lot. As part of the application process, applicants take the test right then and there. The state then could have the samples collected and tested for a lot less, probably. Yes, it would be spending money in an already tight budget, but the overall outcome will be worth it. When reapplying each year, applicants should also be randomly tested.

The point is to not keep people from getting the help they need but to make sure that help is being used for its intended purpose. Also this prepares them for the real world where drug tests are often required.

Hopkinton

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When did being poor mean it was OK for state lawmakers to treat you like a common criminal?

Last week, the House Health, Human Services and Elders Affairs Committee took testimony on such a bill (HB 121) filed by two Greater Nashua legislators. If approved, it would require drug testing for all applicants seeking welfare benefits under the state's Temporary Aid For Needy Families program.

Under the bill - introduced by Rep. Donald Le-Brun, R-Nashua, and Rep. Jeanine Notter, R-Merrimack - welfare applicants would have to pay for the test up front. Those who passed would be reimbursed the estimated $45; those who failed would not.

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I have no issue using my tax dollars to temporarily assist people who need immediate cash assistance. I do have an issue using my tax dollars for any welfare assistance without implementing drug testing as part of eligibility.

Opponents argue that children will be further burdened. Not true.

The people receiving benefits through Temporary Aid for Needy Families use the cash for Dunkin Donuts, McDonald's, cat and dog food. They purchase alcohol and cigarettes and, yes, some purchase drugs. Anyone receiving welfare assistance should be required to pass a drug test to assure taxpayers that our dollars aren't being abused.

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For the Monitor Monday, January 6, 2014

In the 1980s, a simple statement from Nancy Reagan became popular among American culture: "Just say no." I believe America needs to change its view on how we handle drugs (incarceration versus rehabilitation), and one drug in particular: marijuana.

This month the New Hampshire House will vote on legalizing and taxing marijuana, similar to the new system in Colorado. Why is this beneficial? Here are just a couple reasons:

More violence is attributed to alcohol and prescription drug abuse in the United States than marijuana. Marijuana prohibition costs our country more than $20 billion a year. Studies have shown the U.S. can save more than $8 billion a year, while generating more than $8 billion in tax revenue, from legalizing marijuana. There is no academically accepted evidence that marijuana is a gateway drug. If legalized, people would know what they're buying and where it's coming from, reducing the risk of laced marijuana. Worried about minors? They seem get alcohol rather easily - yet that's legal.

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Letter to the Editor

Twenty years ago, I nearly lost a family member to marijuana. He is one of the 2-3 percent of the population who are hyper-reactive to pot and his habitual use in college reduced him over time to a near-vegetative state. Had he continued to smoke, he would have likely remained permanently psychotic. Fortunately, he sought treatment before he fell into that abyss.

In spite of my family member's harrowing experience, I am firmly convinced that the time has come to decriminalize marijuana. Though there are real dangers to its use, I believe that the prohibition of marijuana is self-defeating. My relative abused it because it was illegal. He was rebelling. What's worse, he didn't seek treatment until it was almost too late, because he didn't want to admit that he'd been breaking the law.

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Regarding your Dec. 17 editorial ("NH should legalize medical marijuana"), if health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal and there would be no medical marijuana debate.

Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents.

The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s despite opposition from the American Medical Association.

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And then there was one.

Effective Jan. 1, New Hampshire will be the only New England state in which patients cannot receive safe, legal access to medical marijuana.

Last month, Massachusetts joined Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont and a growing number of other states by voting to protect seriously ill patients from arrest when their doctors recommend marijuana for treatment.

So much for "Live Free or Die."

As residents of New Hampshire, we've heard the motto a million times. But when we look at the states around us, and the actions they are taking to allow their residents to live more freely than we do, we start to wonder if we're losing our "live free or die" spirit.

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A new governor open to legalizing marijuana for medical purposes could boost the chances of New Hampshire joining the rest of New England in allowing such use.

"We're very optimistic about finally passing it in 2013," said Matt Simon, a legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project who has pushed for such a law in New Hampshire.

A new bill to legalize marijuana for medical purposes in New Hampshire is expected to be filed this week at the State House, he said.

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CONCORD - New Hampshire stands a much better chance of legalizing medical use of marijuana than at any time in state history.

That's because for the first time, both major political parties have nominated a candidate - Republican Ovide Lamontagne, of Manchester, and Democrat Maggie Hassan, of Exeter - who embrace the change.

Three-time Libertarian candidate John Babiarz, of Grafton, likewise has endorsed New Hampshire becoming the 18th state to make marijuana available to chronically ill patients.

This stands in stark contrast to the last eight years.

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Recent Charges Tossed After Subjects Produce State Cards

Two years after Maine voters passed the medical marijuana bill, law enforcement is dealing with the complexity of the otherwise illegal substance being grown, distributed and legally used by more than 260 patients in York County and more than 2,300 people statewide.

"There is a constant tension between the medical marijuana program and the ability for law enforcement to regulate criminal activity," said Ken Albert, director of the Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services, which manages the Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Program.

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