New Hampshire Commission Tasked With Studying State-Run Model for Cannabis Sales Completes Work, Offering No Recommendations

A New Hampshire legislative commission tasked with studying a state-run model for cannabis sales completed its work Nov. 27 but did not issue a recommendation as Gov. Chris Sununu weighed in on what he would like to see in an adult-use cannabis program in the Granite State.

The Republican governor, who has served since 2017, said Monday that a regulated adult-use market in New Hampshire must have a limit of 15 stores, as well as a ban on lobbying and political contributions by cannabis licensees, according to the New Hampshire Bulletin.

“We are adamant about that number, 15,” David Mara, Sununu’s adviser on addiction and behavioral health, told the news outlet. “We don’t want to see a proliferation of what’s happening in other states.”

Mara added that commercial cannabis sales are “something we’ve got to move slowly on,” the New Hampshire Bulletin reported, and said, “Perhaps in the future, the Legislature could always change that. … After this thing gets up and running, then more could either be added or deleted in relation to how things progress.”

The commission, which has been studying state-controlled cannabis sales for months, initially discussed limiting the number of adult-use licensees to 67 to match the number of liquor stores in the state, according to the New Hampshire Bulletin.

Commissioners ultimately voted, 7-2, to send the report to the New Hampshire Legislature recapping its activities—which included meetings and listening to testimony from experts and community members—but did not recommend what shape potential adult-use cannabis legislation should take in 2024, the New Hampshire Bulletin reported.

Sununu has indicated that a state-run cannabis model is the only one he will sign into law.

In 2022, the New Hampshire House approved an adult-use cannabis bill that would have allowed state-run liquor stores to serve the market, but the legislation ultimately stalled in the Senate.

During this year’s legislative session, the House once again signed off on a proposal to legalize adult-use cannabis in a non-state-run sales model, but the Senate again rejected the measure.

In the wake of the most recent bill’s defeat, Sununu issued a statement in May to express his support of an adult-use cannabis market that is regulated similarly to how New Hampshire controls liquor sales.

“With the right policy and framework in place, I stand ready to sign a legalization bill that puts the State of NH in the driver’s seat, focusing on harm reduction—not profits,” he said. “Similar to our liquor sales, this path helps to keep substances away from kids by ensuring the State of New Hampshire retains control of marketing, sales, and distribution—eliminating any need for additional taxes. As such, the bill that was defeated in NH this session was not the right path for our state.”

Sununu added that he would sign an adult-use legalization measure that:

• Allows the state to control distribution and access
• Keeps marijuana away from kids and schools
• Controls the marketing and messaging
• Prohibits marijuana miles
• Empowers towns to keep out if they choose
• Reduces access to poly-drugs
• Keeps it tax free to undercut the cartels who continue to drive NH's illicit drug market
  

He indicated he would veto legislation that does not include these very specific provisions.

Now, Sununu envisions an adult-use sales model that uses a franchise system, the New Hampshire Bulletin reported; the New Hampshire Liquor Commission would oversee products, marketing and the layout of retail stores, which would be run by individual owners and sell products tested and approved by state officials.

Sen. Rebecca Whitley, D-Hopkinton, told the New Hampshire Bulletin that she has concerns with Sununu’s last-minute introduction of the 15-store cap and the ban on lobbying by licensees.

“It feels very rushed and a little inefficient to have spent months and months on this language, the various issues, and then the very last meeting, the very last half hour, to raise these pretty substantial issues,” she said.

Sen. Tim Lang, R-Sanbornton, on the other hand, told commissioners that a limit on adult-use retailers is “not new ground,” the New Hampshire Bulletin reported, citing similar caps on medical cannabis licensees—called alternative therapeutic centers (ATCs)—and charitable gaming. These limits, Lang said, are meant “to determine the impact” as the new industries mature.

Former New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan signed the state’s medical cannabis law in 2013 and commercial sales launched in 2016. The state currently has eight licensed ATCs serving patients.