LYNCH VETOES BILL LEGALIZING MEDICAL POT

CONCORD - Legislative and health-care supporters seeking to legalize
the use of medical marijuana for the chronically ill vowed to
overcome Gov. John Lynch's veto of the bill Friday.

Lynch cited concerns with what he considered to be loose guidelines
for cultivation and distribution in refusing to make New Hampshire
the 14th state to allow people with a debilitating condition to use
marijuana for relief.

Lynch, a three-term Democrat, praised lawmakers for trying to address
his concerns but concluded the bill (HB 648) had "too many defects to
move forward."

"I understand and empathize with the advocates for allowing medical
marijuana use in New Hampshire. However, the fact remains that
marijuana use for any purpose remains illegal under federal law.
Therefore, if we are to allow its use in New Hampshire for medical
purposes, we must ensure that we are implementing the right policy,"
Lynch said in his veto statement.

"We cannot set a lower bar for medical marijuana than we do for other
controlled substances, and we cannot implement a law that still has
serious flaws."

This was cold comfort to Rep. Cindy Rosenwald, D-Nashua, who led a
bipartisan effort in theHouse and Senate to re-craft the bill in
hopes of getting Lynch's support.

"I am disappointed by the governor's veto," Rosenwald said in a statement.

"I believe the final version was the tightest and most precise
medical marijuana legislation of any state."Unlike every other state
with it, this bill would have kept patients and caregivers from being
able to cultivate the drug that remains illegal to possess under federal law.

Instead, Rep. Evalyn Merrick, D - Lancaster, a cancer survivor,
agreed to change her bill to restrict possession of marijuana in
private, nonprofit compassion centers that would then dispense the
drug to eligible patients and designated caregivers.

"Scaling back to three cultivation/distribution centers with
mandatory criminal background checks on individuals would have
allowed us to make sure only qualifying patients could get access to
a safe supply of marijuana," Rosenwald continued.

Lynch recognized the legislator's hard work, but that wasn't enough
to entice him to sign the bill into law.

"After consulting with representatives of the appropriate state
agencies and law enforcement officials, I believe this legislation
still has too many defects to move forward," he said.

This was one of Lynch's most detailed veto messages and appropriately
since it will stand the stiffest test of his gubernatorial authority
since first becoming governor in January 2005.

"There are also many inconsistencies and structural problems in the
legislation that would greatly complicate its administration and
would pose barriers to controls aimed at preventing the unauthorized
use of marijuana," Lynch continued.

Matt Simon, executive director of New Hampshire Common Sense for
Marijuana Policy, questioned if Lynch ever was open-minded on the
subject and urged lawmakers to ignore this setback and make the bill
become law over his opposition.

"If Governor Lynch really has 'tremendous compassion' for patients,
and if his concerns about the bill's details are sincere, then he
should have worked more closely with the committee that worked so
diligently to address his concerns," Simon said.

"The legislature should be outraged by the governor's lack of
leadership on this issue, and if legislators hear from their
constituents in support of this bill, we may be able to gain the
votes necessary to override this veto."

Dennis Acton is a Fremont Republican and cancer survivor who has
appeared in commercials promoting the bill.

"I'm disappointed that Governor Lynch did not meet with patients like
me before deciding medical marijuana users should continue to risk
arrest and jail time to relieve their suffering," said Acton, who
used it to treat nausea when undergoing radiation therapy in 1999.

"I'm urging my fellow Republicans who are in the Legislature to have
the courage to stand up and override this veto."

The fight returns to the House where a two-thirds super majority is
needed to override a Lynch veto. In June the House voted for the
bill, 232-108, well more than necessary to override Lynch.

The anti-veto campaign is more difficult in the state Senate, where
supporters are two votes shy of mustering the needed margin to make
this state law.

Lynch adopted the argument that the bill had untold government costs
and that fees could be so expensive it would allow access to
marijuana for only the wealthiest patients.

"We applaud Governor Lynch for vetoing the medicinal marijuana bill,"
said Kevin Smith, executive director of the fiscally and socially
conservative Cornerstone Policy Research group.

"Given the precarious situation of the new state budget, now would
not have been the time to add additional state spending and burden
the taxpayers even more to pay for the monitoring of marijuana use in
the state."