New Hampshire lawmakers appear to be at an impasse over legislation to legalize marijuana through a multitiered system of state-controlled stores, privately operated agency shops and dual-licensed medical cannabis dispensaries. But with the governor’s newfound support for a state-controlled cannabis market, they will be returning to the issue later this year.
The House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee declined to act on a new amendment from Chairman John Hunt (R) at a meeting on Tuesday. Instead, members advanced an unrelated underlying bill that dealt with alcohol license payments unamended, with plans to continue working on a separate, standalone measure to create a state-controlled cannabis market that the previously had panel retained.
With key legislative deadlines for action this year coming up in June, the expectation is that the committee will return to that legislation—which currently calls for the Liquor Commission to operate adult-use marijuana shops—in work sessions when lawmakers reconvene in September or October in preparation for possible floor action early in 2024.
At that point, the chairman said that members could try to attach a revised amendment to the bill that would provide a hybridized sales model that resolves contradictory language that derailed the most recent attempt.
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