New Hampshire would be the 14th state to legalize medicinal marijuana if the bill passes, according to Matt Simon, executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy. Medicinal marijuana use is legal in Vermont.
The state Senate is expected to vote on the bill on April 29, according to state Sen. Martha Fuller Clark, D-Portsmouth, who co-sponsored the bill. The bill is not yet scheduled on the docket for that day, according to other state senators.
The bill passed the New Hampshire House of Representatives by a margin of 234-138 on March 25. A previous version of the bill failed to pass the House in 2007, according to state Rep. Evalyn Merrick, D-Lancaster, the current bill's sponsor. Merrick, who has multiple myeloma, said inhaling marijuana in November 2003 helped her regain her appetite, which she said she lost as a side effect of her cancer treatment.
"There are people out there, patients, who are suffering and have no relief from the effects of their disease," Merrick said. "We have a moral and ethical obligation to help these people. Marijuana, when all else fails, can help relieve pain and suffering."
The new legislation "permits the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes if prescribed by a physician." Patients with a "debilitating medical condition" would be allowed to possess six marijuana plants and up to two ounces of usable marijuana at a time, Merrick said.
Some elected officials have objected to the bill's plan to allow patients to grow their own plants, according to state Rep. Peter Batula, R-Hillsborough, who said the provision makes the bill's limitations difficult to enforce.
"I do not favor the bill," he said. "I think this is opening a door to a total legalization of marijuana. I think that the people who are sick no doubt have a right to whatever helps them, but I think this will open the door in future years to the authorization of the growing of marijuana."
California failed to properly regulate the drug's use when it legalized medicinal marijuana in 1996, leading to overconsumption and illegal use, Simon said. Medicinal marijuana is still legal in the state.
Simon argued that similar problems will not occur in New Hampshire if the bill passes, given the language of the legislation.
"The marijuana is only enough for the patient, if that," Simon said. "People think of California often when they think of medical marijuana. But California laws are very different than the laws of the other 12 states. Its law is very vaguely worded. We're not talking about a store on Main Street. We're talking about a bill that's tightly crafted."
Gov. John Lynch, D-N.H., has no immediate plans to veto the bill if it passes the legislature, but is "going to continue to talk to lawmakers, members of the law enforcement community and members of the medical community about [the bill]," according to Colin Manning, the governor's press secretary.
"While the governor believes that we should provide comfort to those who are seriously suffering, he does have some concerns about the bill," he said. "It's in direct conflict with federal law. The governor actually would be open to discussion if there was a more controlled method to obtain marijuana, such as through hospital care or hospice care."
The bill's proponents argue that the way it is written will prevent misinterpretation and abuse.
"There are several illnesses including things like [multiple sclerosis], AIDS, cancer, that are mentioned in the bill," Simon said. "[The bill] has a definition for pain, because they don't want someone who stubs their toe to qualify. [The marijuana] is to take the place of medications that haven't worked or to alleviate nausea associated with medications. Like with chemotherapy, it makes them sicker than the disease does, and they need to be able to eat and sleep and drink to fight their illness."
Students who attended the College Libertarian's event said the decriminalization of marijuana will provide economic benefits.
"The social cost of criminal marijuana is much higher than decriminalized marijuana," Victoria Stockman '10, head executive of the College Libertarians, said. "Economically, marijuana is still used whether it is legal or not. Right now it's illegal, so it creates a black market where people avoid the law. The government has to spend money to incarcerate the people and fight the drug war. Why not end this, and make it a regulated fair business act of selling marijuana?"
Because the new bill only legalizes medicinal marijuana, it will likely not have an economic impact, state Rep. David Pierce, D-Grafton, said.
"It's not like it's going to be out on the open market," he said. "It's strictly regulated to physician prescription, so it wouldn't be an economic stimulus for the state. That's not the intent either."
Of New Hampshire voters, 78 percent favor the legalization of marijuana for medical use, according to a 2008 poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research.
