CONCORD, N.H. - The New Hampshire House of Representatives today voted to table House Bill 1633 (HB 1633), the bill to legalize recreational marijuana for adults in New Hampshire, meaning marijuana will not be legalized in New Hampshire this year.
In response to this vote, Devon Chaffee, Executive Director of the ACLU of New Hampshire, said:
- “Despite a unique window of opportunity and growing excitement about legalization, today, New Hampshire lawmakers failed to pass legislation to legalize marijuana.
“Pushing legalization off yet another year makes clear that lawmakers are willing to ignore the will of their own constituents and are okay with continuing to needlessly ensnare around a thousand people -- disproportionately Black people -- in New Hampshire’s criminal justice system every year.
“Our state must stop its practice of arresting Granite Staters for marijuana possession at the cost of millions of dollars to taxpayers, and for something that nearly three-quarters of Granite Staters believe should be legal.
“Marijuana legalization is not just a political squabble about the economic benefits - the war on marijuana has real-life impacts. While politicians argue, the impacts of these arrests will continue to ruin lives.”