The N.H. House began its yearly session Wednesday, and one of its first votes showed strong bipartisan support for a measure to legalize marijuana for recreational use by adults.

Representatives backed House Bill 186, 208-135. The next stop for Rep. Jared Sullivan’s legislation will be the House Finance Committee.

There was no debate on the measure, which would allow adults to possess up to 2 ounces of the drug and allow its sale in stores licensed through a state commission that would be created.

Sullivan, D-Bethlehem, previously predicted that the House would pass this legislation, but said he wasn’t holding out much hope for its chances in the N.H. Senate and noted that Gov. Kelly Ayotte also opposes legalization.

 

Still, Wednesday’s vote ensures that pot legalization will remain on the Legislature’s agenda in 2026.

Two other legalization bills are also in play this year.

Rep. Jonah Wheeler, D-Peterborough, is the prime sponsor of a proposed constitutional amendment, CACR 19, that would legalize adult possession of a small amount of the drug.

Constitutional amendments require three-fifths majority support in the House and Senate, and two-thirds majority support by voters in a general election.

Sullivan is also the prime sponsor of House Bill 1235, which would allow adult personal possession of marijuana for recreational use, but wouldn’t set up a system for commercial sales.

He told The Sentinel in October that House consideration of marijuana legalization is important even if other branches of state government don’t support it.

“My stance is, listen, we are equal branches of government with the governor and the Senate, and so we should push through what we believe will be the best bill,” Sullivan said.

“It has a very slim chance of passing, but it’s on them to explain to New Hampshire people, 70 percent of whom think it should be legal, why they don’t want to pass it. That’s not on me.”

An April poll by the University of New Hampshire of 1,455 state residents showed 70 percent strongly or somewhat support legalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use.

About half the states in the country, and all of the states in New England, have legalized possession.

The House has passed legalization measures over the years only to see them die in the Senate, where opponents stress public health and public safety concerns associated with cannabis.

New Hampshire decriminalized marijuana in 2017, reducing penalties for possession of up to three-quarters of an ounce to a violation similar to a traffic ticket. The state approved a medical marijuana law in 2013.

Rick Green can be reached at 603-352-1234, extension 1435, or rgreen@keenesentinel.com.

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