MMJ to move forward in New Hampshire

Let's get 'er done. NH House Committee Passes Medical Marijuana Bill | The 420 Times


Progress to report from the state of New Hampshire, as a medical marijuana bill has passed out of a house committee recently. From a press release from the NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy:

CONCORD – The House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee brought seriously ill Granite Staters closer to relief today with a 14-3 “ought to pass” vote on a bill to allow the medical use of marijuana. H.B. 442, which creates a narrow exception in New Hampshire law for people with certain qualifying conditions to use marijuana to treat their conditions with a doctor's recommendation, will now move on to the full House for a vote.
Introduced by Rep. Evalyn Merrick (D-), herself a cancer survivor, the bill has 5 Republican cosponsors, including the chair of the Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee, Rep. John Reagan (R-Deerfield). HB 442 also enjoys strong support among voters; a 2008 Mason-Dixon poll showed that 71% of New Hampshire voters are in favor of allowing the use of medical marijuana, with only 21% opposed.
“Today's vote once again shows that when legislators learn the facts about medical marijuana, they are motivated to allow its use by seriously ill patients,” explained Kirk McNeil, executive director for the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy.
The bill would create a tightly regulated ID system for all patients, as well as establish state-licensed alternative treatment centers to provide safe access to medical marijuana. It also includes strict rules regarding public use, impairment, and driving under the influence.
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Medical marijuana continues its inexorable march across the country. There are fewer people everyday who can find anything wrong with ill people having the option of cannabis to treat their ailments. Even if you don't agree with full marijuana legalization, should that keep the option illegal for sick people?
Our opponents like to say that medical marijuana will lead to full legalization; I say let the voters decide that. But there is no reason medical marijuana shouldn't be legal in all 50 states and on a federal level.
- Joe Klare