Unfortunately no. New Hampshire remains the only state in New England that hasn’t fully legalized marijuana. While it is decriminalized, users can still pay a hefty penalty if caught.
This may change, however. With GOP and Democratic leaders sharing their unwavering support for cannabis reform, the granite state might find itself finally legalizing marijuana.
Legalized Marijuana Takes Off In Surrounding States
With every surrounding New England state (including Canada) fully embracing legalized marijuana, it’s been an absolute disaster for granite staters. Still under the thumb of government persecution for purchasing over an ounce, citizens are getting fed up with being sneaky about their cannabis use.
The surrounding states Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, and now Rhode Island have all put forth effective and safe cannabis reform bills. Unfortunately New Hampshire is sitting in the middle with its eyes, ears (but not mouth) closed about the topic.
New Hampshire is currently sitting very far behind the rest of New England and the only ones paying are its citizens and out of staters who aren’t up to speed on current legalization across the board.
What Is Standing In The Way Of Legalized Marijuana?
New Hampshire is a quirky place. One of the biggest reasons for the continuation of incarceration has been that the state doesn’t want any competition from a new and emerging industry. Thus government officials have taken major strides to let us know that we are safe from cannabis users – even though we are ALL practically cannabis users.
While legalization has brought a number of new industries across America, there are only a few “last-stand” states and New Hampshire has been one of them.
The state still continues to make money off of the punishment of normal citizens taking a hit of weed – at the same time, they are profiting exorbitantly due to the sole ownership of hard alcohol. It seems that the New Hampshire government doesn’t want people to make a living for themselves and start their own venture. They are perfectly happy selling it and profiting FOR you.
Does 2023 Look Good For New Hampshire Legalized Cannabis?
While this overall is an abysmal fight, there may be some hope for the year 2023. While the idea of legalization has been pushed for for COVID-19, and other “whatever” reasons, an adult use cannabis bill has been proposed and is currently on the table for discussion.
The bill would allow a single adult (21+) to have in possession 4 ounces of marijuana (10 grams of concentrate). This is far better and more appealing than the current decriminalization amount of .75 ounces. The reason they implemented .75 ounces into the decriminalization bill was so that they could still penalize people. While the surrounding states employed a 1 ounce decrim amount, New Hampshire wasn’t ready to let its citizens off the hook that easily. With the. majority of users purchasing at least an ounce or more, they knew penalty money would still flow through.
This bill would also tax marijuana at 8.5% room and meals tax. This is the lowest tax rate of any legalized state in the country and will drive far more traffic for those looking to get their cannabis at a better value than paying exorbitant taxes from Mass and Vermont.
New Hampshire prides itself on small businesses, which is why having a low-level entry fee for potential businesses to compete more effectively.
Lastly, the taxes collected from this cannabis bill will go directly back into public works. If there is nobody supporting schools, libraries and public works, then cannabis is a great industry to full that gap. None of the money goes into elected officials pockets
Cannabis Products Help Avoid Detection
There have been tremendous strides within the cannabis industry to developed vaporizers that are more discrete and odorless. This has helped to curb detection without facing the hefty penalties for possession. It also cuts down on the overall quantity of possession to limit any charge.
While this has been pivotal for users, this has also helped to develop a safer state-of-mind when it comes to the use of cannabis vaporizer products.
Still, these devices are fully accessible in all of the surrounding New England States while New Hampshire cannabis users rely on them.
Gone are that weird time of hiding a spray bottle of Febreze in your backseat. Conventional disposable vaporizers and 510 cartridges are continuously improving the quality and discretion to help users enjoy their experience without the fears of those red and blue lights behind them.
Citizens from out of state (and even those from New Hampshire) can enjoy their cannabis without too much interference from law enforcement. With vape pens and concealable vape technology now dominating the industry as a whole, there is far less to worry about. “Potential aromas” can’t be detected as easily and doesn’t stick into the fabrics as long.
New Hampshire Fight For Legalized Marijuana
While the future is still uncertain, it looks like the right people are starting to push the right buttons to get the granite state out of the stone age. With the rest of America now pulling together for fight against outdated (and racist) policies, it’s time for the new green wave to flood our population.
By having the lowest taxation in cannabis throughout all of the US, the surrounding states will no-doubt flock to New Hampshire as a pot capital of new England. Get ready to start seeing more pot leaves on bumper stickers and flags and start to feel a little less paranoid if thats a cop behind you.
Improving what new industries can benefit New Hampshire citizens and the state as a whole is the next step (even if the Mcdonalds couldn’t last at the Mall of New Hampshire).