NH LAWMAKERS MULL DECRIMINALIZING AND TAXING POT

More than a year after Massachusetts decriminalized marijuana
possession, New Hampshire lawmakers are thinking about doing the same
- -- or even taxing and regulating cannabis.

The ailing economy and budgetary crisis are prompting legislators to
take a second or, at least, a longer look at House Bill 1652.

This proposal would allow adults to possess 1 ounce or less, provide
for state regulation, and tax marijuana's wholesale and retail sale.

Prime sponsor Rep. Calvin Pratt, R-Goffstown, said he doesn't expect
it to become law this year, but if tough economic challenges linger,
the bill may be approved in years to come.

For the time being, Pratt said he thinks the decriminalization bill,
HB1653, which would allow possession of one-quarter ounce or less,
stands a better chance than HB 1652 of gaining House approval.

"All the evidence is that marijuana is a mainstream substance," he
said, "and it is currently being regulated by an illicit market and
tens of millions of dollars are being shipped out of New Hampshire."

Even a keenly pro law-enforcement lawmaker, Rep. David Welch,
R-Kingston, is intrigued by the potential revenue and savings that
could be generated by taxing and regulating marijuana.

"It's kind of a strange situation because there is money there and we
just lost $110 million this morning," said Welch, of the House
Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.

Welch was talking about the latest budgetary bad news, the loss of
Joint Underwriting Account funds after a New Hampshire Supreme Court decision.

Committee Recommends Tax-And-Regulate Study

A major supporter of reforming marijuana laws, Matt Simon, 33, said
he was pleasantly surprised last week to see the House Criminal
Justice Committee vote to recommend the tax-and-regulate marijuana
bill go to an interim study.

If the House votes for the study, the committee would study the bill
and report back to the House in November.

The proposal narrowly missed, by an 8-10 vote, gaining a committee
recommendation that the House pass the bill.

Simon, a former college English professor and the executive director
of the NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, said there are
economic reasons for supporting such a bill.

A study in 2005 by Jeffrey Miron, a Harvard University economics
professor, showed New Hampshire could raise $5.6 million in taxes and
save $20 million in enforcement costs by taxing and regulating marijuana.

In addition, Simon said the bill, which would legalize the possession
and sale of marijuana, would cut out the criminal drug-dealing
element, including Mexican drug cartels.

Ultimately, existing laws are out of step with how people in New
Hampshire think about marijuana, Simon said.

A poll conducted by Simon's group in April 2008 showed Granite State
voters favor reducing penalties for marijuana possession by a 53 to
34 percent. They also favored medical marijuana reform by 71 to 21
percent, he said.

Less Support Among Police Chiefs

Still, many in law enforcement oppose decriminalization, saying
legalizing marijuana would promote use of harder drugs and lead to more crime.

Pelham police Chief Joseph Roark said most crimes in his community
are drug related and most drug users' habits started with smoking marijuana.

"To me, marijuana is an illegal drug and, in the vast amount of
times, it is a drug user's first drug," he said.

So, whether people steal to get money to buy marijuana, or they steal
to get money for harder drugs, marijuana use is contributing to crime, he said.

Roark said he has seen many instances where enforcement of marijuana
laws, leading to arrest or a diversion program, has encouraged people
to change their ways.

Some parents might not even discover their children are using
marijuana if possession is decriminalized and subject only to a fine,
Roark said.

He also said it would make it harder for police to combat drug
dealing since sellers could sell smaller amounts without risking
arrest or detection of the sale of harder drugs.

There are lawmakers, too, who clearly oppose marijuana legalization,
including Rep. Charles McMahon, R-Windham.

"I'm opposed," he said. "I believe it is a doorway to drug use and
the increased use of drugs.

In Newton, where federal authorities confiscated 1,600 pounds of
marijuana in 2006, police Chief Larry Streeter said he thinks the
drug is bad for people and for society, and it should remain illegal.

Decriminalizing marijuana would create a legal means of self
medication and impairment.

"I think society is too permissive as it is," Streeter said.

Supporters of decriminalization say criminal punishment -- up to one
year in jail and a $1,000 fine -- for smoking or possessing a small
amount of marijuana is harsh.

Mike Cutler of Brookline, 61, is a lawyer who supported the marijuana
decriminalization initiative approved by 65 percent of Massachusetts
residents in November 2008.

Ultimately, voters decided it was an issue better dealt with at home
than in the criminal justice system.

"Parents felt they would rather deal with this in their kitchens, as
opposed to courthouses," Cutler said.

Possession of an ounce of marijuana or less is a civil infraction
punishable by a fine of $100 in Massachusetts.

Bay State Law Hasn't Affected Enforcement

Two Massachusetts police chiefs said little has changed since the
decriminalization law went on the books.

Lawrence police Chief John Romero said he doesn't support legalizing
marijuana, but added decriminalization has not affected drug enforcement.

"Most of our cases of marijuana are large scale (more than an
ounce)," Romero said.

That was the case before decriminalization and it has been the case
since decriminalization.

North Andover Police Department spokesman Paul Gallagher said there
probably have been fewer citations under decriminalization than there
were arrests for marijuana possession before the law took effect.

There has been a problem with nonpayment of fines, but not with the
department's ability to police, Gallagher said.

"I do not believe it has been a problem," he said.

Medical Use, Decriminalization Are Connected

Changing attitudes about marijuana have taken root in 14 states.
These are places where medical marijuana use has been legalized.

Last year, New Hampshire's attempt to legalize marijuana for
medicinal use fell only two votes shy in the Senate of overturning
the governor's veto of the bill. The House successfully overcame the veto.

This year, the progress of the proposed decriminalization bill
depends a good deal on the recommendation it gets from the Justice Committee.

It still remains to be seen how the bill would fare in the Senate or
if Gov. John Lynch would sign it.

Welch, a member of the Justice Committee, said the decriminalization
bill makes sense "because our law enforcement people have more
important things to do than chasing someone who is smoking a little
bit of marijuana."

Welch said his thinking about marijuana laws changed after talks with
police officers revealed selective enforcement.

Some of them would arrest a person who possessed a small amount of it
and other officers would not.

Welch recalled something he saw at a DWI checkpoint five or six years ago.

Police officers stopped a driver who has a joint. They searched the
car and found nothing else illegal in it. Eventually, Welch said,
police let the man go, tossing the joint down a sewer drain.

"After that particular incident, I started changing my mind about
marijuana use," Welch said.

Pratt said the interesting thing about the pending marijuana bills is
bipartisan support for and opposition to them."It's odd, it's the
weirdest thing I've seen up there," Pratt said. "There are members of
both parties who support and oppose it."