New Hampshire Senate Passes Bill to Decriminalize Marijuana
New Hampshire’s Senate has just passed a marijuana decriminalization bill which has already passed the House of Representatives.
House Bill 640 was approved today by the Senate, roughly three months after it was passed by the House of Representatives with an overhwleming 318 to 36 vote. Given the proposal was amended in the Senate, it will need to receive one more vote in the House before being sent to Governor Chris Sununu for consideration.
House Bill 640 is sponsored by Representative Renny Cushing with a bipartisan coalition of sponsors. The measure would decriminalize the possession of up to three-quarters of an ounce of marijuana, reducing the charge from an arrestable misdemeanor to a simple civil infraction punishable by a fine of $100 for a first or second offense, or $300 for a third offense within three years of the initial offense. A fourth offense within three years would be a class B misdemeanor, but with no possibility of an arrest or jail time.
According to polling released last year by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, 72% of New Hampshire adults support decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana.