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New Hampshire will remain the lone New England state without a regulated adult-use marijuana program after state lawmakers refused to compromise on a controversial legalization bill.
As predicted, Republican Gov. Chris Sununu’s vision for a unique state-run sales model – 14 government-owned marijuana stores throughout the state – failed 178-173 with lawmakers in the libertarian-leaning state House of Representatives.
The latest action eliminates the chance of an adult-use marijuana market passing during this legislative session.
The bill’s failure is considered a mixed bag for marijuana entrepreneurs, as it would have offered limited business opportunities.
The Sununu-supported state-run sales model would have been an outlier in the United States.
Though hard liquor is sold at state-run franchise stores in New Hampshire and several other states, government-run cannabis sales would have been a first.
And though state senators ultimately passed the measure – the furthest any cannabis effort has made it in the Granite State’s legislative process – a state monopoly was considered a dealbreaker in the House.
According to the Associated Press, Democratic state Rep. Jared Sullivan called Sununu’s marijuana legalization idea “the most intrusive, big-government marijuana program proposed anywhere in the country, one that ignores free market principles, will stifle innovation in an emerging industry and tie future generations of Granite Staters to an inferior model indefinitely.”
Regulated adult-use cannabis already is available in nearby Massachusetts and Maine, where towns near the New Hampshire border boast many marijuana stores.
Polling indicates 70% of New Hampshire voters favor marijuana legalization, the AP noted.
