allenlovesgreen

Lynch at center of medical marijuana fight
7/1/09|UnionLeader| by Tom Fahey



With the battle over a state budget now over, activists are fighting over whether Gov. John Lynch should sign a medical marijuana bill into law.

Conservatives are urging Lynch to veto HB 648, while those who favor more liberal marijuana policies are urging him to pass it.

The bill calls for three-nonprofit "compassion centers" that would be licensed to grow and distribute marijuana to critically and terminally ill patients, who must be certified by the state and their own doctor.

Lynch said yesterday he is reviewing a copy of the 20-page bill that Senate and House members negotiated over the past month, but said he has reached no decision.

The Secretary of State's office has still not received the finished bill from legislative lawyers. The bill needs the signatures of Speaker of the House Terie Norelli and Senate President Sylvia Larsen before it goes to Lynch. If he signs the bill, New Hampshire would join 13 other states that enacted laws allowing medicinal use of marijuana.

The final version of the bill passed by more than a two-thirds margin in the House, 232-108, and by a party-line, 14-10 vote in the Senate.

Republicans who voted against the bill argued that it will put police in a tough spot. They are sworn to uphold all state and federal laws, yet state marijuana law will require them to allow certified patients to violate federal law.

The conservative Cornerstone Policy Research group is calling on Lynch to veto the bill on fiscal concerns, saying it will cost the state too much money at a time when budget dollars are already stretched too thinly.

A legislative fiscal note said the bill will cost $250,000. However, the bill states that the program must be self-funded, using license and permit fees to cover all its costs.

Matt Simon of the N.H. Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy said Cornerstone did not follow the bill through the process, and missed important changes that eliminated the bill's impact on the budget.

He said the bill was carefully crafted to meet all Lynch's concerns, especially his demand that dispensation and distribution of marijuana be a secure process.

"We feel we've done a good job and we hope Gov. Lynch will do the right thing," Simon said.

NH Common Sense has launched a TV ad campaign, its second of the year, calling on Lynch to sign the bill. It features cancer survivor Dennis Acton of Fremont, recounting how the use of marijuana alleviated nausea he suffered during chemotherapy.

Acton says in the 30-second ad, "I hope Gov. Lynch will have the courage to step forward and sign this bill into law."

BillieBudd

More unchallenged horse hockey from the Forces of Reaction regarding the police, whose Brothers in 13 other states have made accommodations,sometimes grudgingly, with the laws of their jurisdiction.

LowRider

"Republicans who voted against the bill argued that it will put police in a tough spot. They are sworn to uphold all state and federal laws, yet state marijuana law will require them to allow certified patients to violate federal law."

how is this any different from immiagration laws that local cops can't touch

cj117

Man, that was a terrible ad.

Still, those buggers really need to step forward and press their governor. It sucks that too many people don't care. What if YOUR friends had cancer? I'll bet you'd want it legal then!

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Buzzby

I think it's an excellent ad. The message is simple and straightforward. The speaker is a quintessential "regular guy" with a serious medical problem, someone with whom ordinary, non-drug culture people can easily identify. It reminds people about democracy and that 71% of the people in the state favor the contents of this bill.

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BillieBudd

With so much support, and even of the Union Leader, a conservative (to say the least) newspaper, backing the legislation, I don't know why he is being so cautious...I don't think he has ambitions to national office...it just confounds me as to who he is afraid of handing a "soft on drugs" argument against him...

allentxpool

I agree Buzzby - it's great ad that's to the point.

claygooding

Check his bank account,see if he deposited a large check from Jose on a bank in Juarez recently. See if he has any relatives or friends that make their living keeping drugs illegal.

Ss0p

I live in NH. It would be nice to see medical marijuana legalized. He's a Democrat, too, which helps.

gompers

NH Gov Vetoes Medicinal Marijuana Bill - wbztv.com
Jul 10, 2009 11:23 am US/Eastern
NH Gov Vetoes Medicinal Marijuana Bill

HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press Writer
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) ― Gov. John Lynch vetoed legislation Friday that would have made New Hampshire the 14th state to legalize marijuana use by severely ill people, citing concerns over distribution and cultivation.

Lawmakers had made extensive changes to the bill in hopes of winning over Lynch, who had been critical from the start. But the governor said Friday that the bill still has too many defects.

"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," Lynch said in his veto message.

"Therefore, if we are to allow its use in New Hampshire for medical purposes, we must ensure that we are implementing the right policy. 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."

The bill passed the House 232-108 last month and the Senate 14-10. Depending on attendance, the House may have the two-thirds support to override, but supporters need two more votes in the Senate.

If the veto is overridden, the bill would establish three nonprofit "compassion centers" to dispense 2 ounces of marijuana every 10 days to severely ill patients whose doctors approve the drug's use. The state would license the centers and issue identification cards to their staff, approved patients and their caregivers.

Lynch said the bill did not adequately address law enforcement concerns about how the marijuana would have been cultivated and distributed.

He said he was particularly concerned about the potential for unauthorized distribution, given that in addition to patients and designated caregivers, an unlimited number of compassion center volunteers also would have access to the drug.

And he took issue with the amount of drug allowed to be dispensed, saying the potency of marijuana can vary greatly depending on how it is cultivated.

The bill would make New Hampshire the third state to adopt a "pharmacy model" by licensing the compassion centers to grow and dispense marijuana to patients approved by doctors to receive the drug. Rhode Island and New Mexico have enacted similar models.

Other states allow individuals to possess and grow the drugs. Patients also can buy marijuana at stores in California. New Hampshire's bill would not allow individuals to grow marijuana.

Supporters argue the proposal is narrower than other states' because patients would have to meet two tests before qualifying for legal use of marijuana.

First, they must have a qualifying chronic or terminal illness from a list in the statute that could not be changed administratively.

Second, they must not have responded to previously prescribed medication for three months to treat severe nausea, severe vomiting, seizures or severe, persistent muscle spasms. Diseases include cancer, glaucoma, AIDS, hepatitis C while receiving antiviral treatment, and Crohn's disease.

But Lynch said the bill does not clearly restrict the use of marijuana to patients who are suffering severe pain, seizures or nausea as a result of a qualifying medical condition.

The bill is silent on the cost to patients, but supporters hope contributions will allow them to dispense the drug with little or no cost to patients. According to Lynch, the state's administrative costs would be so high that only the wealthiest patients would be able to afford to pay the resulting fees.