After it passed with veto-proof margins for the first time in New Hampshire's history, cannabis decriminalization was signed today by new NH republican governor Chris Sununu.
Marijuana decrim is the latest feather in the cap of the NH Freedom Migration that has been tipping the political scales of the state in favor of more liberty. This year alone, there have been multiple political wins, from multiple elected state representatives flipping to the Libertarian Party of NH, to the constitutional carry bill passing, the bitcoin/cryptocurrency protection bill, and even legalizing firecrackers!
This isn't the best decrim bill possible, but it's a big step in the right direction for the Live Free or Die state. Police have sixty days before the bill goes into effect to arrest as many users as possible, because after sixty days, they're only allowed to ticket for cannabis possession. HB 640 eliminates criminal penalties for the possession of up to 3/4 of an ounce of cannabis and/or up to five grams of hashish for those age 18 or older. Under the new law, first time offenders will receive a civil violation punishable by a $100 fine. Unfortunately, if the person is caught three times in three years, then the fourth ticketing would be a class B misdemeanor, but the person still cannot be arrested. The first offense is fined at $100, but subsequent offenses within that three year period would be $300 each.
Hopefully, after a year of this decrim, the state reps and senators will see that the world in NH has not turned into a satanic hellscape, and we'll see further decriminalization in the future, right down to the total elimination of all penalties for possession, growing, or sale of any amount of cannabis. Ideally, New Hampshire, if it were truly a free place, would have no regulatory or taxation structure around the cannabis plant at all. If that miraculously happened, the cannabis industry would explode in the Shire and we'd all be better off for it.
If you like that vision and you're a libertarian, voluntarist, or liberty-loving anarchist, we need you here to help make NH the best state for cannabis freedom. Sure, other states have legalization, but there's an insane amount of regulation and tax around the industry. What if NH could be the one state without that legal garbage? It could happen if you were here to help. We need more people to move here and join the most successful freedom migration in the world. Here are 101 reasons why you should.
This article originally appeared at Free Keene, my main blog: http://freekeene.com/2017/07/18/its-official-nh-governor-signs-cannabis-decriminalization/
Here's a picture of Libertarian Party of NH chairman Darryl W Perry with a huge paper mache joint:
