MARIJUANA BILL GETTING MIXED REVIEWS

A bill that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of
marijuana is getting mixed reception, both from Lakes Region
lawmakers and those who testified on the bill at a committee hearing.

Supporters and opponents of House Bill 1623 testified at a hearing
before the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee Tuesday.

At the hearing, a New Hampshire police officer and corrections
officer testified on behalf of the bill while representatives from
the New Hampshire Attorney General's office and Chiefs of Police
Association spoke against the bill. One assertion made by the Chiefs
Association was that such a law might open the door on marijuana use
in the Granite State.

"The hearing (on Tuesday) was just the first step," said Rep.
Charles Clark, who pointed out that the road ahead includes a
subcommittee review, discussion on the House floor and then onto the Senate.

Clark, R-Gilford, said that while he had not seen anything on this
new bill and would be open to the information, he is philosophically
opposed to decriminalizing marijuana possession.

Under the proposed law, possession of less than 1.25 ounces of
marijuana would be considered a violation, punishable by a maximum
penalty of a $200 fine. It would also eliminate "penalties for the
manufacture or sale of less than 1.25 ounces of marijuana."

"That sounds like a really good idea to me," said Rep. Beth
Arsenault, D-Laconia.

Possession of marijuana in the Granite State is currently considered
either a felony or a Class A misdemeanor depending on the amount
possessed. Even in the misdemeanor case, "a person may be sentenced
to a maximum term of imprisonment of not more than 3 years, a fine
of not more than $25,000, or both," according to state law.

HB1623's main sponsor is Rep. Jeffrey Fontas, D-Nashua, who says it
is more about preserving the opportunities of young people rather
than anything to do with marijuana.

Right now, anyone with a possession conviction is ineligible to
receive federal financial aid and may be excluded from certain
government jobs.

"If we are concerned enough about young people going down the wrong
track then we should not prevent them from opportunities that get
them on the right one," said Fontas.

Rep. Alida Millham, R-Gilford, like Clark, says she, too, has
serious misgivings about such a bill. She has never voted for the
marijuana bills. Her main concern, as she explained it, was that
marijuana might become deregulated.

"I think it's a slippery slope," she said. A similar bill was
proposed during the 2007 legislative session. House Bill 92 removed
marijuana from criminal status. This was something than even
advocates did not endorse. The bill effectively died when the 2007
legislative session expired without being acted upon.

Since the 2006 state election, state Rep. Charles Weed, D-Keene, has
put his name on a number of bills advocating for reform of New
Hampshire marijuana laws and HB 1623 has had the strongest level of
support yet.

"It's a decent step in the correct direction," said Matt Simon,
spokesman for the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy.

In addition to 1623, House Bill 1567 aims a little lower on the
spectrum and calls for lower penalties on possession of a quarter of
an ounce instead of an ounce and a quarter. The bills were
introduced side by side.

"The criminalization of marijuana is very much like prohibition.
Let's look at this responsibly rather than some ideology," said
Weed, who is the main sponsor of 1567 and a co-sponsor of 1623.

"We are not making it legal, we are just downgrading the penalty,"
said Simon. "Society should be careful about what we characterize as
criminal." One of the benefits asserted in the bill is that it would
likely decrease the number of court cases, both felony and
misdemeanor, and the related costs associated with marijuana possession.

The average felony case is estimated to cost $327.59 in 2009 while
the average misdemeanor case costs approximately $49.50. On top of
that, the average annual cost to incarcerate a prisoner in a county
facility is $29,000.

Simon explained that by reducing the penalty it will give law
enforcement agencies the time and additional resource to focus on
"real" crimes. He also agreed that it would have some impact on the
fiscal and volume burdens on New Hampshire courts by keeping these
causes out of the court buildings.

Sen. Deborah Reynolds, D-Plymouth, said she has yet to take a
position on HB1623 and it would likely take some study before she
lined up with one side or the other.

Fontas said he felt the hearing went extremely well, with the amount
of public support for a change from the current policy being almost tangible.

The committee did indicate that it would like to see an age
restriction be put into the bill, which Fontas and others were happy
to agree to.

A video of the hearing can be seen at www.nhcommonsense.org. Other
information on the state's marijuana laws can be found at Attorney
General's website at doj.nh.gov or www.gencourt.state.nh.us/RSA.