LYNCH THREATENS VETO AFTER HOUSE VOTES TO DECRIMINALIZE POT

CONCORD - The New Hampshire House voted yesterday to decriminalize
possession of small amounts of marijuana, ignoring advice from the
House Criminal Justice Committee.

The action quickly drew a rare veto threat from Gov. John
Lynch.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Foster, D-Nashua, said the Senate will
most likely kill it.

House Bill 1623 passed in an amended form by a vote of 193-141. It
makes possession of up to one-quarter ounce of marijuana a violation,
punishable by a $200 fine. The quantity involved is enough for about
seven or eight marijuana joints.

Those who backed the bill said the penalties in current law are too
harsh. They include a $2,000 fine, jail time and the loss of
eligibility for federal grants for college aid.

The Criminal Justice Committee recommended killing the bill by a 13-5
vote. It now goes to the state Senate.

Rep. Jason Bedrick, R-Windham, said the bill does not make marijuana
completely legal.

"The question is not whether marijuana should be illegal. The question
is whether a teen being stupid should face up to a year in prison and
a loss of all funding for college," he said. It is time New Hampshire
joined 12 others states that have lowered the punishment for
possessing small amounts of marijuana, he said.

Gov. Lynch's spokesman Colin Manning said the bill "sends absolutely
the wrong message to New Hampshire's young people about the very real
dangers of drug use. That is why the governor joins the House Criminal
Justice Committee and law enforcement in opposing this bill. If the
bill were to reach the governor's desk, which seems very unlikely, he
would veto it."

"I don't think he's going to be seeing it," Foster said. "I know of no
interest in the Senate on either side of the aisle to entertain that
bill."

The bill does not change the laws on sales or transport of marijuana
in a car, a flaw critics pointed out in a failed attempt to defeat the
bill.

Rep. John Tholl, R-Whitefield, who is chief of police in Dalton,
warned that giving some marijuana to a friend is considered a drug
sale, a felony under current state law. Transporting it in a car is
still a misdemeanor.

"We don't need to send a mixed message to people, to have them think
it's okay to have a little," he said. "They can't give it away or have
in it a car, because it's a felony or misdemeanor."

He worries that young people may be more likely to get caught up in
drug trouble thinking that the reform runs through all laws on marijuana.

Stephen Arnold, past president of the 4,300-member N.H. Police
Association, said the bill "sends a horrible message to our young
people." He said the bill's supporters exaggerate the effect current
law has on young people's lives.

"People aren't going to jail for possession of marijuana, but they are
paying fines," he said.