New Hampshire HB648

[camoxnhx]

So today was a good day today in NH. The house voted in favor of the bill. Here's the page on the new Hampshire movement for medical marijuana. NH Compassion | Dedicated to protecting New Hampshire's medical marijuana patients. (http://Www.nhcompassion.org).

[camoxnhx]

So the house voted 231-138 in favor of the bill. Now onto the senate!

[camoxnhx]

So good news New Hampshire! The hearing for the senate is this Tuesday April 14th 2009. Write/Call to your local senate! If this bill passes N.H. Will be the 14th state to protect seriously Ill patients to smoke and grow cannabis. For more on the bill visit the link above.

[Galaxy]

Senate passes medical marijuana bill! Contact Gov. Lynch now!

Last update: April 29, 2009

For the first time ever, the New Hampshire House and Senate have passed effective medical marijuana bills. HB 648 passed the House by a 234-138 vote and the Senate passed it on 14-10 vote. New Hampshire is now very close to becoming the 14th state to stop arresting patients for using medical marijuana with their doctors' recommendations.

Gov. John Lynch (D) has expressed concerns about the bill and it is vital that he hear that Granite Staters support protecting patients.

HB 648, sponsored by Rep. Evalyn Merrick (D-Lancaster) and co-sponsored by Sens. Martha Fuller Clark (D-Portsmouth) and John Gallus (R-Berlin), would protect patients and their caregivers from being arrested, prosecuted, and convicted for possessing and growing limited amounts of medical marijuana. It also would protect doctors from arrest, prosecution, and conviction for recommending medical marijuana to their seriously ill patients.

The New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, an MPP grantee, is organizing the campaign in support of HB 648. Please visit NHCompassion.org for more information about the campaign, including the stories of several seriously ill patients who could benefit from medical marijuana.

[Galaxy]

Widespread support for medical marijuana

A 2008 Mason-Dixon poll showed that 71% of New Hampshire voters support allowing seriously and terminally ill patients to use and grow medical marijuana for personal use if their doctors recommend it. A majority of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents support this policy as well. With overwhelming public support like this, there is no excuse for New Hampshire legislators not to pass medical marijuana legislation, but legislators need to hear from you.

An April 2009 poll by the University of New Hampshire showed that 45% of New Hampshire voters would be more likely to vote for their state senator if he or she supported the medical marijuana bill, while only 24% would be less likely.

It's clear that supporting medical marijuana is the politically smart stance to take. Please let your state senators and Gov. Lynch know you want them to support HB 648.

[camoxnhx]

So NH residents contact governed lynch. He's the only thing left!

[Galaxy]

Do you know anyone who could benefit from medical marijuana?

In order to pass HB 648, we need to hear from people who are willing to speak out in favor of medical marijuana. Many people use marijuana as part of their treatment for cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, epilepsy, and other serious illnesses. In order to pass medical marijuana legislation in 2009, we need to hear from patients who could benefit (or are already benefiting) from medical marijuana. If you are a patient who might benefit from medical marijuana, or if you know somebody who might benefit from medical marijuana, please e-mail [email protected] to find out how you can help.

Additionally, if you are a medical professional, law enforcement officer, or member of the clergy, your help could be particularly valuable. Please contact Zane Hurst by e-mailing [email protected].

[Galaxy]

House Creates Team To Work Out Pot Bill
Posted by CN Staff on May 07, 2009 at 19:48:07 PT
By Kevin Landrigan, Staff Writer
Source: Nashua Telegraph

Concord, NH -- House supporters of legalizing medical marijuana for chronic or terminally ill patients slowed their campaign Wednesday after fearing Gov. John Lynch would veto the bill (HB 648) as the state Senate had passed it.

The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to create a team of legislative negotiators to try and work out differences between the two branches.

State Rep. Cindy Rosenwald, D-Nashua, said there's broad agreement among House and Senate supporters.

The goal of the working group, she said, would be to try and address eight specific problems Lynch and his staff identified during private meetings with House supporters earlier this week.

The most significant, Rosenwald said, was the "residential model" that would let a qualified patient or caregiver cultivate at home up to six plants or possess up to two ounces of marijuana

"His biggest issue is the lack of a centralized system to give it out," Rosenwald told her House committee Wednesday.

Lynch did not say he would have vetoed the Senate-passed bill and would not comment when asked if New Hampshire should create state-run dispensing centers for medical marijuana as now exist in California.

"I can say the current proposal as to how it would cultivated and distributed within the bill is unacceptable," Lynch told reporters.

House Speaker Terie Norelli, D-Portsmouth, picked Rosenwald to serve as chairwoman of the negotiating group once the Senate, as is expected next week, agrees to the same course of action.

Rosenwald admitted it will be hard to craft an alternative manner of dispensing marijuana to Lynch's liking but rejected the notion the governor would veto it in any form.

"It has been made clear they are certainly open to working to address his concerns," Rosenwald said.

Among issues Lynch and his staff raised were whether the definition of eligible patients was too broad, if there should be criminal background checks for all caregivers and if this compels landlords to rent to patients or caregivers who grow or possess marijuana, she continued.

The bill seeks to make New Hampshire the 14th state for it to be legal for chronically or terminally ill to use marijuana.

Under the bill, a person with a "debilitating medical condition" or designated caregiver could cultivate his or her own marijuana or get it as a gift and not a for-profit sale from another, qualified patient living in a state where it's legal for patients to have it.

Attorney General Kelly Ayotte and nine of the state's 10 county attorneys oppose the bill because possessing marijuana violates federal law.

Rep. Peter Batula, R-Merrimack, warned if this bill became law it would lead to broader efforts to decriminalize it.

"I think we ought to kill it as quick as we can. I know all those on this committee have compassion on their minds, but I think adopting this sets the stage for long-term legalization for use of marijuana," Batula said

"The thing you are doing is opening up the door."

Bill at a Glance:

Bill No. HB 648

SPONSOR: State Rep. Evalyn Merrick, D-Lancaster.

DESCRIPTION: The bill lets patients and designated caregivers have six plants and up to two ounces of useable marijuana to help those who have a â??debilitating medical condition,â?� as long as itâ??s under the supervision of a physician. A person would cultivate his or her own marijuana or get it as a gift a not a for-profit sale from another, qualified patient. The House approved the bill in March, and the state Senate approved its version with some changes last week, including one to study an alternative way to dispense the drug to eligible patients.

STATUS: Fearing a Lynch veto, House supporters asked and convinced the House of Representatives on Wednesday on a voice vote to create a committee of House and Senate negotiators to work out a compromise. The Senate is expected to agree to that negotiating committee strategy when it meets next week.

Source: Nashua Telegraph, The (Nashua, NH)
Author: Kevin Landrigan, Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, May 7, 2009
Copyright: 2009 Telegraph Publishing Company
Contact: [email protected]
Website: Nashuatelegraph.com: Frontpage : News and Classifieds from Southern New Hampshire (http://www.nashuatelegraph.com)
URL: Nashuatelegraph.com: House creates team to work out pot bill (http://drugsense.org/url/nAJ3B3SC)