Following Tuesday’s surprise House vote in New Hampshire in favor of legislation decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of pot, many of the Granite State’s political leaders and pundits have come down with severe cases of ‘Reefer Madness.’  

Among the afflicted: Democrat Governor John Lynch who, immediately following Tuesday’s vote, threatened to veto any plan that would reduce criminal penalties for small-time pot offenders. “[This bill] sends absolutely the wrong message to New Hampshire’s young people,” the governor stated through his spokesperson. “If the bill were to reach the governor’s desk, … he would veto it.”

Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta also appears to have contracted the disease. Yesterday, the mayor demanded state Rep. David Scannell, one of the 193 elected officials who voted in favor of HB 1623, to resign from his full-time job as spokesman for the Manchester school district. In a letter from the mayor to the first-term representative, Guinta charged that Scannell’s House vote “permanently and irrevocably harms” Scannell’s ability to serve Manchester’s schools. The mayor further argued Scannell’s resignation is necessary to “help restore the integrity” of district anti-drug policies.

Wow! Somebody please notify the mayor that marijuana possession — even minor offenses — would still be illegal under HB 1623, and that in a democracy we don’t threaten legislators’ ability to earn a living when we disagree with their political viewpoints.

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If you live in the Granite State, tonight you have reason to celebrate.  

New Hampshire House Approves Bill To Decriminalize Pot
via WMUR.com

CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire residents could possess one-quarter ounce or less of marijuana without facing jail under a bill headed to the state Senate.

The House voted 193-141 Tuesday to decriminalize the small amount of the drug, making possessing it a violation subject to a $200 fine. Under current law, possessing that amount could mean spending a year in jail and paying a $2,000 fine.

Supporters argued current law costs youths who experiment with the drug all chances at receiving financial aid to attend college. They said it wasn’t fair to penalize them for life for a youthful mistake.

Read the full story here.

Kudos to Matt Simon, the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, and to all of you who contacted the New Hampshire House over the past two weeks. Now it’s on to the Senate — where the battle really begins.

House Bill 1623, which seeks to remove criminal penalties for the possession and use of up to one-quarter ounce of marijuana in New Hampshire, was passed earlier today 3-1 by a subcommittee of the House Criminal Justice and Safety Committee.

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