New Hampshire, hampered by a governor who’s not entirely onboard with cannabis legalization, can’t seem to make much headway in its legislative attempts at reform. Earlier this year, the New Hampshire Senate let a legalization bill die in committee.
Gov. Chris Sununu has repeatedly emphasized his opposition to adult-use cannabis regulation, despite neighbors in Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts moving forward with different approaches to the central theme.
Even more incremental pieces of legislation find opposition on the governor’s desk.
Sununu recently vetoed a bill that “would have eliminated the requirement that a patient have at least a three-month relationship with a provider before being certified to receive medical marijuana,” according to the Associated Press. Patients’ ease of access is at issue here, but Sununu insisted that it’s important for patients to take the time to develop a rapport with their physicians. A medical cannabis recommendation is part of a broader health care conversation, as Sununu explained.
In other news, the governor did sign a bill that begins the expungement process for adults convicted of possessing up to three-quarters of an ounce of cannabis prior to Sept. 16, 2017. That law will take effect in January 2020.
