Date: Thu, 28 Jan 2010
Subject: #430 Bill To Regulate Marijuana Studied In New Hampshire
BILL TO REGULATE MARIJUANA STUDIED IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
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DrugSense FOCUS Alert #430 – Thursday, 28 January 2010
This week, the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee of the New
Hampshire House of Representatives voted 16-2 to study House Bill
1652, a proposed law to regulate and tax marijuana. H.B. 1652 is
sponsored by Republican Calvin Pratt from Goffstown, Republican
Timothy Comerford of Fremont, Democrat Joel Winters from Manchester,
and Democrat Carla Skinder of Cornish.
The CommonDreams.org report, below, is just one of this event now
breaking on the net. By using MAP’s newsbot http://drugnewsbot.org/nh
you can follow news about New Hampshire cannabis legalization bill HB
1652 as the news breaks.
Writing letters to the editor to newspapers in New Hampshire and the
surrounding area about the proposed legislation keeps the issue in the
mind of voters and lawmakers alike. Contacts for many newspapers may
be found at http://mapinc.org/media.htm
New Hampshire state representatives may be found at
http://capwiz.com/norml2/home/ and urged to support HB 1652.
Updated facts on marijuana you may wish to use are at
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/node/53
Many articles and opinion items about marijuana are posted daily in
MAP’s unique archive of drug policy news http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm
. Breaking news about marijuana may be found at http://drugnewsbot.org/topic/cannabis.htm
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http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/01/28
Pubdate: January 28, 2010 10:03 AM
Source: CommonDreams.org (Web)
Author: Matt Simon
NH House Committee Recommends Study of Bill That Would Tax and
Regulate Marijuana
Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee votes 16-2 to consider
details of H.B. 1652 before moving bill forward
CONCORD, N.H. – January 28 – Yesterday, the New Hampshire House of
Representatives Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted
16-2 to “refer for interim study” H.B. 1652, a bill that would tax and
regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. If the House
concurs with this recommendation, the 20-member committee will proceed
with a comprehensive study of the proposal. This vote is a promising
sign that New Hampshire’s lawmakers are willing to seriously discuss
the possibility of ending marijuana prohibition in the Granite State.
Previously, a vote to recommend that the bill “ought to pass” failed
8-10. Five Democrats and three Republicans voted in favor. Rep.
Shannon Chandley (D-Milford), who voted against the first motion, told
her colleagues, “I believe we should decriminalize marijuana,” but
said she felt the committee should take time to consider all the
details of the bill before recommending it to the full House of
Representatives.
“This committee seems to understand that the prohibition of marijuana
has been a terrible policy failure,” said Matt Simon, executive
director of the NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy. “We
appreciate the fact that some members want to give this further study
and make sure the details are correct before they move this bill forward.”
In 2009, an effort to override Gov. John Lynch’s (D) veto of a medical
marijuana bill passed the NH House but fell two votes short in the NH
Senate.
HB 1652 is sponsored by Rep. Calvin Pratt (R-Goffstown), Rep. Joel
Winters (D-Manchester), Rep. Carla Skinder (D-Cornish), and Rep.
Timothy Comerford (R-Fremont).
Matt Simon, NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy
http://www.nhcommonsense.org/
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Prepared by: Doug Snead * MAP Editor www.mapinc.org * International
Drug Policy Analyst * www.drugnewsbot.org
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