Bills that would decriminalize cannabis possession and add post-traumatic stress disorder to the medical cannabis qualifying condition list in New Hampshire passed through key committees in the Senate and will move to the chamber for a full vote, the Associated Press reports.
The decriminalization legislation, approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, would remove criminal penalties for possessing up to 20 grams of cannabis, downgrading the charge from a misdemeanor to a violation carrying a maximum penalty of $300. A measure that previously passed the House would have raised that limit to 28 grams – or 1 ounce – however, the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police worked with Republican Sen. Jeb Bradley on a compromise between the plans to tighten the legislation.
If approved, New Hampshire would be the final state in New England to pass a cannabis decriminalization law. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu has indicated he would sign a decriminalization bill; something his predecessor, Democrat Maggie Hassan, never vowed.
The bill adding PTSD and chronic pain to the medical cannabis qualifying condition list passed through the Senate Health and Human Services committee, and will likely be taken up by the full Senate next week.
New Hampshire’s medical cannabis dispensaries opened last year.
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