GROUP WANTS LYNCH TO VETO MEDICAL POT BILL

CONCORD -- A conservative watchdog group called upon Gov. John Lynch
on Monday to veto a bill legalizing medical use of marijuana on
financial grounds.

Cornerstone Policy Research said a 20-page compromise (HB 648)
approved by lawmakers would require an "overly cumbersome and
expensive bureaucratic response."

The bill calls for an estimated $250,000 for the Department of Health
and Human Services to oversee the dispensing of the drug exclusively
to patients who have a debilitating illness.

But Cornerstone Executive Director Kevin Smith said the HHS estimate
was based on a previous version of the bill that had allowed patients
and caregivers to obtain and grow marijuana on their own.

"The newly written bill is clearly going to cost a lot more than
$250,000," Smith said.

The final agreement soon to reach the governor's desk restricts
distribution to private, nonprofit "compassion centers" that would
likely be sited in the southern part of the state.

"It only stands to reason that the state's role is going to have to
be a whole lot more significant if it needs to regulate distribution
from these compassion centers," Smith said.

Supporters of the bill stress that any cost to state government is
covered under the proposal.

"Apparently Kevin Smith didn't read the entire bill, which clearly
states that fees must be set to cover all the program's expenses,"
said Matt Simon, head of New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense
Marijuana Policy.

Simon said state officials admitted back in March that their original
estimate for the cost of the bill was too high. He said Smith and his
organization had never even weighed in on the legislation until Monday.

"Until now, no opponent of HB 648 has publicly made this argument
against the bill, although it would have been the obvious argument if
it had any basis in reality," Simon said. "Smith has been very busy
this year battling over gay marriage and other issues, so this may be
an honest mistake. If so, we can expect he will issue a correction to
his organization's e-mail list so members will know the truth about HB 648."

The final bill calls on HHS to develop a schedule of fees to be paid
by operators of the compassion centers. Simon said the 13 states,
including Maine, Vermont and Rhode Island, where medical marijuana is
legal have had no problem raising enough money to administer their programs.

Cornerstone did not weigh in on the medical marijuana bill until
Monday, but had opposed a related measure that died in the House that
would have decriminalized possession of up to one ounce of pot.