A commission tasked with exploring marijuana legalization in New Hampshire held its first meeting Tuesday, setting off a yearlong examination process ahead of its final report next November.
Created by House Bill 215, the commission is charged with looking at what might happen if the state legalized marijuana, regulating and taxing it like alcohol, along the model of other states.
STATE BY STATE: New Hampshire Cannabis News
The goal is broad. Among the topics to be considered, according to the commission, are how legalization might affect the opioid crisis, crime rates, children’s health, DUI accidents, taxation policies and New Hampshire’s brand.
“To me, in simple form, I think it’s our job to identify the good, the bad and the ugly of legalization,” Rep. Patrick Abrami, the commission’s chairman, said at the meeting Tuesday.
The commission will reach out to states that have already undertaken the effort, such as Colorado, which implemented legalization in 2014, and Massachusetts, which will roll out its legalization effort next summer. Members will try to set up video conferences with state officials over Skype, said Abrami, a Stratham Republican.
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