BILL WOULD ALLOW MARIJUANA SALES

Legislation Exceeds Laws in Other States

If Rep. Charles Weed's bill passes, selling marijuana would be legal
in New Hampshire.

Weed argued yesterday that legalizing marijuana use and sales would
free up the police and government to tackle more violent crimes. In a
hearing of the criminal justice and public safety committee, Weed
said current laws are unfair to those who are convicted of marijuana
use. They can be unfairly incarcerated with users of harder drugs,
such as cocaine and heroin, he said.

"If people are convicted for soft-drug use, they're in a problem for
the rest of their lives," said Weed, a Democrat from Keene.

A person convicted of marijuana possession, a misdemeanor, can
receive up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $2,000. A person
convicted for the first time for the sale or cultivation of more than
5 pounds of the drug, a felony, can receive a sentence of up to 20
years and a fine of $200,000.

Weed's bill goes further than the marijuana laws of all states. While
several states have decriminalized penalties against marijuana users,
none allows sales or the recreational use of the drug. Marijuana can
be used in 11 states for medical purposes.

Matt Simon, a spokesman for Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana
Policy, said that the bill will be amended. "The way it is now, you
could grow a field of marijuana, drive it across into Massachusetts,"
he said. "This is a place to start the discussion of what the best
way is to change the policies."

The bill is also sponsored by Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, a Republican
from Manchester, and Rep. Paul Ingbretson, a Republican from Pike.

Vaillancourt called marijuana possession "a victimless crime" and
said some legal substances, such as tobacco and alcohol, are more dangerous.

When asked by Rep. Jeffrey Fontas why the bill's language didn't
address how legal marijuana would be regulated, Vaillancourt said the
committee's amendments would do that.

State law enforcement and health officials opposed the bill, saying
that legalizing marijuana would only make the drug more available and
further stretch their resources.

Maj. David Kelly of the state police said that a person who tries
marijuana often ends up trying harder drugs.

"Decriminalization will come at the expense of society, of public
safety, of children and of you," he said.

Simon Brown, head of the attorney general's criminal justice bureau,
said the police have their hands full regulating tobacco and alcohol.
Like those two drugs, marijuana can also be harmful, he said. He
cited federal studies that show the drug can impair a user's
concentration and coordination, which are vital to driving, he said.
Studies also connected marijuana use with violent acts, he said.

But Bradley Jardis, a police officer in New Hampshire, questioned
whether marijuana can lead to violence.

"In my experience, I've never gone to a fight call or domestic
violence call where it's only because of marijuana," said Jardis, who
didn't give his department. He was speaking on behalf of Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition, a national group of law enforcement
officers who support legalizing marijuana.

Citing the Federal Drug Administration, Jardis said marijuana use
hasn't been the primary cause of any drug-related deaths.

Committee members questioned whether federal law would trump the
bill. Brown said it was "complicated" and something that would need
to be resolved. But Ingbretson, a co-sponsor, said the state's
decision could serve as a message for the federal government.

"When they feel the heat, they see the light," he said.

About 10 percent of New Hampshire residents use marijuana, said
Joseph Hardy of the Department of Health and Human Services. More
than a fifth of 12- to 17-year-olds use it, and almost a third of 18-
to 25-year-olds are users.

Weed and Ingbretson, along with two members of the criminal justice
committee, have also sponsored a bill that would allow medical use of
marijuana. Another proposed bill would allow hemp to be grown for
industrial uses.

The Legislature often considers bills trying to loosen marijuana
laws, said Bill Knowles, chairman of the criminal justice committee.
While those efforts have failed, Weed, who has sponsored a similar
bill before, said a new majority and leadership in the Legislature
might change things.