HOUSE CREATES TEAM TO WORK OUT POT BILL

CONCORD - House supporters of legalizing medical marijuana for
chronic or terminally ill patients slowed their campaign Wednesday
after fearing Gov. John Lynch would veto the bill (HB 648) as the
state Senate had passed it.

The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to create a team of
legislative negotiators to try and work out differences between the
two branches.

State Rep. Cindy Rosenwald, D-Nashua, said there's broad agreement
among House and Senate supporters.

The goal of the working group, she said, would be to try and address
eight specific problems Lynch and his staff identified during private
meetings with House supporters earlier this week.

The most significant, Rosenwald said, was the "residential model"
that would let a qualified patient or caregiver cultivate at home up
to six plants or possess up to two ounces of marijuana

"His biggest issue is the lack of a centralized system to give it
out," Rosenwald told her House committee Wednesday.

Bill at a glance Bill No. HB 648

SPONSOR: State Rep. Evalyn Merrick, D-Lancaster.

DESCRIPTION: The bill lets patients and designated caregivers have
six plants and up to two ounces of useable marijuana to help those
who have a "debilitating medical condition," as long as it's under
the supervision of a physician. A person would cultivate his or her
own marijuana or get it as a gift a not a for-profit sale from
another, qualified patient. The House approved the bill in March, and
the state Senate approved its version with some changes last week,
including one to study an alternative way to dispense the drug to
eligible patients.

STATUS: Fearing a Lynch veto, House supporters asked and convinced
the House of Representatives on Wednesday on a voice vote to create a
committee of House and Senate negotiators to work out a compromise.
The Senate is expected to agree to that negotiating committee
strategy when it meets next week. Lynch did not say he would have
vetoed the Senate-passed bill and would not comment when asked if New
Hampshire should create state-run dispensing centers for medical
marijuana as now exist in California.

"I can say the current proposal as to how it would cultivated and
distributed within the bill is unacceptable," Lynch told reporters.

House Speaker Terie Norelli, D-Portsmouth, picked Rosenwald to serve
as chairwoman of the negotiating group once the Senate, as is
expected next week, agrees to the same course of action.

Rosenwald admitted it will be hard to craft an alternative manner of
dispensing marijuana to Lynch's liking but rejected the notion the
governor would veto it in any form.

"It has been made clear they are certainly open to working to address
his concerns," Rosenwald said.

Among issues Lynch and his staff raised were whether the definition
of eligible patients was too broad, if there should be criminal
background checks for all caregivers and if this compels landlords to
rent to patients or caregivers who grow or possess marijuana, she continued.

The bill seeks to make New Hampshire the 14th state for it to be
legal for chronically or terminally ill to use marijuana.

Under the bill, a person with a "debilitating medical condition" or
designated caregiver could cultivate his or her own marijuana or get
it as a gift and not a for-profit sale from another, qualified
patient living in a state where it's legal for patients to have it.

Attorney General Kelly Ayotte and nine of the state's 10 county
attorneys oppose the bill because possessing marijuana violates federal law.

Rep. Peter Batula, R-Merrimack, warned if this bill became law it
would lead to broader efforts to decriminalize it.

"I think we ought to kill it as quick as we can. I know all those on
this committee have compassion on their minds, but I think adopting
this sets the stage for long-term legalization for use of marijuana,"
Batula said

"The thing you are doing is opening up the door."