By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD — For the second time this session, the House on Wednesday legalized the personal possession of marijuana although the odds of becoming law are slim.
House Bill 198 legalizes the possession of three-quarters of an ounce of cannabis for those over 21 years old, institutes fines for the public smoking or vaping of the substance for the first two offenses before a misdemeanor charge is levied for the third offense in five years, but does not legalize the sale of cannabis.
The prime sponsor of the bill, Rep. Jared Sullivan, D-Bethlehem, said his bill mirrors how Vermont legalized marijuana, first legalizing possession and then figuring out how it should be sold.
“My bill simply legalizes cannabis with some guardrails around it, it doesn’t touch how you regulate sales,” he said, “but if you are caught with it, it is not illegal and it stops ruining people’s lives.”
But Rep. Jennifer Rhodes, R-Winchester, said no bill legalizing cannabis going to the governor’s office is going to become law.
She noted the House has passed numerous bills over the years only to watch the Senate kill them, which is what they will do to this bill.
“It goes on and on,” she said and urged her colleagues to kill the bill, which they did not do.
The House voted 208-125 to approve the bill, which now goes to the Senate where it faces strong opposition.
Drug Testing
The House overturned the recommendation of the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee to kill a bill that would allow “harm reduction” and public health organizations to test street drugs for their content and strength in order to save lives, sponsors said.
Rep. Jodi Newell, D-Keene, said House Bill 226 would help prevent overdoses from drugs and allow public health officials to be nimble in responding to new drugs on the street that are dangerous.
She said the testing stripes law passed several years ago, is only good for testing one kind of drug and not being able to determine strength or other substances.
She said the drug screening the bill allows is essential to fighting the state’s drug crisis.
But Rep. Terry Roy, R-Deerfield, said the bill enables drug addicts who will not wait to test the drugs they buy on the street.
He noted the state police lab tests all drugs that are seized in an arrest and puts the word out when a new dangerous substance shows up in the state.
“There is no safe experience with drugs,” he said.
The House voted down an attempt to kill the bill on a 196-140 vote, before passing the bill on a voice vote.
The bill now goes to the Senate.
Blood Alcohol Test
The House also overturned the same committee recommendation on a bill that would have doubled the penalty for refusing to take a breathalyzer test when stopped for suspected drunken driving.
House Bill 466 would have increased the penalty for refusing to take the test from six months to a year’s suspended license and did away with the minimum sentence for aggravated driving while intoxicated of six months.
Roy said the bill attempts to incentivize drivers to take the breathalyzer test, because currently the state has one of the highest rates for refusing to take the test.
“That is not a good thing,” he said. “This is a carrot and stick approach.”
But Rep. Alissandra Murray, D-Manchester, said while everyone knows driving under the influence is a serious and dangerous problem, drivers have rights including refusing to take the test because it may be self-incrimination and unlawful search and seizure.
The proposed bill has a cost for a person’s liberty and punishes the driver without due process, Murray said.
The House failed to pass the bill on a 216-120 vote and then killed the bill on a voice vote.
Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.