For too many decades, U.S. laws have treated marijuana as a dangerous drug with no redeeming value. States have followed the federal lead, and added their own laws against it. In the last few years, states have begun to reverse that trend by decriminalizing possession, legalizing marijuana for specific medical uses, and legalizing it for recreational use. Now, states have widely varying approaches to the drug, but the federal government still considers it illegal in all contexts.
My stance is as follows:
Decriminalization: There is no reason to treat possession of marijuana as a crime. Doing so leads to unnecessary and harmful imprisonment and criminal records that make future employment much more difficult. I have voted to decriminalize marijuana every term I have been in the House. Possession of less than 3/4 of an ounce is not a crime, but it is a violation with a $100 fine.
Medical marijuana: Contrary to the Federal position on this, there are a number of medical contexts where marijuana can clearly be beneficial. The Federal stance impedes proper research on this topic. In the short term, a number of states have established mechanisms for prescribing and distributing marijuana for specific medical purposes. In my first term, I voted in favor the bill allowing medical marijuana, and have voted in favor of several bills that expand the range of allowable conditions since then. While the program was slow to get underway, I am glad to say that NH patients now do have access to medical marijuana.
Legalization for recreational use: I am strongly in favor of allowing individuals to grow a small number of plants and harvest for personal use.
Legalization for sale: While I believe that there should be a legal method for sale of marijuana, there are a number of conditions that must be met in any bill I would support:
My stance is as follows:
Decriminalization: There is no reason to treat possession of marijuana as a crime. Doing so leads to unnecessary and harmful imprisonment and criminal records that make future employment much more difficult. I have voted to decriminalize marijuana every term I have been in the House. Possession of less than 3/4 of an ounce is not a crime, but it is a violation with a $100 fine.
Medical marijuana: Contrary to the Federal position on this, there are a number of medical contexts where marijuana can clearly be beneficial. The Federal stance impedes proper research on this topic. In the short term, a number of states have established mechanisms for prescribing and distributing marijuana for specific medical purposes. In my first term, I voted in favor the bill allowing medical marijuana, and have voted in favor of several bills that expand the range of allowable conditions since then. While the program was slow to get underway, I am glad to say that NH patients now do have access to medical marijuana.
Legalization for recreational use: I am strongly in favor of allowing individuals to grow a small number of plants and harvest for personal use.
Legalization for sale: While I believe that there should be a legal method for sale of marijuana, there are a number of conditions that must be met in any bill I would support:
- There must be testing to assure that the product is free of chemical and biological contaminants.
- Producer, distributors, and sellers must be licensed by the state. The model that the state uses for alcohol, where the state is the sole wholesaler and a major retailer of wine and spirits, is the wrong model for marijuana.
- Laws against driving under the influence need to be updated with appropriate testing methods.
- The sale of edible marijuana-containing products that can easily be confused with ordinary food and candy should be banned.
- There need to be guidelines for the orderly handling of financial aspects of the marijuana business, because many banks are reluctant to handle financial aspects of a business that is not legal under Federal law.