Skip to main content

Advocates, Opponents Speak Out on Marijuana Decriminalization

Image
News Date
Body

The Senate is considering a bill that would decriminalize marijuana in New Hampshire.

Republican Adam Schroadter, the sponsor of HB 618, told the Senate Judiciary Committee this week that he believes that getting caught with a certain amount of marijuana should not result in a criminal record, as that leads to further troubles with education and employment down the line.

Under the proposed bill, possession of up to half an ounce of marijuana would be subject to a $100 fine.

Neil Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, wrote a letter in favor of decriminalizing marijuana possession to the committee. “The less time that we as law enforcement spend arresting and prosecuting marijuana users, the more time we can spend keeping our streets safe from violent crime. LEAP strongly supports decriminalizing marijuana to free up limited police resources to deal with more serious crimes,” he explained.

On the other side of the fence, Lieutenant John Encarnacao of the State Police’s Narcotic unit stressed to the committee the problem with decriminalizing the possession of such a large amount of marijuana. “We are talking about enough to roll 28 joints,” he said. “That is a lot of marijuana; that is enough to get 28 people high.”

In March, the House voted 297 to 67 in favor of a modified version of the decriminalization bill that changed the possession amount from one ounce to half an ounce.

Governor Hassan has expressed her intent to veto any marijuana decriminalization bills that make it to her desk.

Comments

Login or register to post comments

Thank you to our sponsors and donors