The debate over whether to legalize cannabis for recreational use continues in the New Hampshire State House. Attempts have failed over the past decade, and today, New Hampshire is the only state in New England without legal marijuana.
So, for May’s Big Question we asked you: Should recreational marijuana be legalized? And if so, what should that look like?
Here’s what some of you said:
Jim Riddle - Hillsborough, NH: I have a small specialty seed business called Lambs Breath Seeds. I also serve on the board of the New Hampshire Cannabis Association. And yes, adult-use cannabis should be legal in New Hampshire. I mean, we're losing millions of dollars a year to neighboring states, both in economic activity but also in tax revenue. And that tax revenue really could be used to help reduce property taxes here in New Hampshire.
Cannabis legalization should be tightly, tightly controlled by the state without putting the state directly in the cannabis business by creating a state run cannabis cartel. It should be done in a way that maximizes opportunities for Granite State farmers and businesses. It should include mandatory product testing for safety and potency. Billboards should be prohibited and marketing to children should be prohibited.
Caroline Judd - Concord, NH: I am against the legalization of recreational marijuana. I think the legislators really need to look at all these effects that it has. It's not a benign substance. If medical use is under the care of a doctor [it] is a different thing, but to think it is a recreational activity is not a good thing. The other thing is, I feel like New Hampshire is this family friendly state, and it's so great to be on vacation and not to smell people smoking it all around. It's so obnoxious to people around. We just don't need it in this state.
Michael Farrington - Conway, NH: Well, it should be recreational. It should have been legal a long, long time ago. I've actually been a marijuana smoker now for 59 years. And I know that it's never hurt me. It's a lot less destructive than alcohol. I don't know, alcohol's totally legal, and they continue to make pot out to be a horrible thing when it's very helpful to a lot of people. To me, it's better than a glass of wine in the evening. I don't understand why our politicians are not doing the will of the people.
Todd Brede - NH: I'm a psychologist and a neuropsychologist. State government is supposed to be in the role of protecting the welfare and the well-being of its citizens. But we've developed this system where now they're becoming dependent on money that they make from selling tobacco, alcohol, gambling. And marijuana is not not the harmless drug that they want you to think it is. In my line of work, I kind of see the impact on people every day, how it impacts relationships. Spouses complaining to me about, you know, my spouse is uninterested in doing anything. They're more depressed. They're apathetic. They don't care as much.
So I think by legalizing marijuana, the state would be making it possible for thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of its citizens to engage in a behavior that they might not otherwise do. But now they think it's safe because it's legal. I would really implore our legislators and citizens to let New Hampshire remain an island of sanity in this ocean of addiction that's overtaking us.
Marcus Ford - Franklin, NH: I think New Hampshire absolutely needs to legalize marijuana. The state of Massachusetts brings in over $220 million in tax revenue [from marijuana sales] a year. I know that we don't have the population to match that number, but that money can absolutely be used for anything we want, like property taxes. It's almost like playing SimCity with the money cheat.
An additional abridged written response is below:
Gretchen Ziegler: Absolutely NO, we should not approve recreational weed until there is a workable way to get those who smoke or allow those in their vehicles to smoke while the vehicle is moving to get them off the highway. I am strongly allergic to the smoke of weed and find that New Hampshire has become almost as bad as Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine with weed smoke coming out of moving vehicles.
