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newgrowerNY

Locals frown on bill to legalize marijuana
01.21.07|EagleTribune.com|Gordon Fraser

A proposal to decriminalize marijuana in New Hampshire is getting an icy reception from local lawmakers and officials.

"I wouldn't support it," said Sen. Mike Downing, R-Salem.

"Will it make my job easier? No," said Salem prosecutor Robert Prince.

"Marijuana is a stepping-stone drug, so obviously, from a law-enforcement perspective, we would be against legalizing," said Kingston police Chief Donald Briggs.

And the list goes on.

"I'm not sure that's the kind of atmosphere we'd want to encourage in this state," said Rep. John Gleason, R-Derry.

"If it's the same bill that I've seen before, I voted against it," said Rep. Anthony DiFrucia, R-Salem.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Charles Weed, D-Keene, told colleagues in the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee last week that taking marijuana out of drug-enforcement statutes would give police more resources to tackle violent crime.

He also said that existing laws governing marijuana use are too harsh and lead users to being jailed with people who use or sell much more dangerous drugs, like cocaine or heroin.

Rep. Bob Fesh, R-Derry, sits on the committee hearing the bill. He doesn't think the proposal will get very far.

"I voted against this last term," Fesh said, adding that he doesn't expect the bill will even make it out of committee.

But Weed, a professor of political science at Keene State College, thinks his proposal could fare better this year than similar proposals have in the past.

First, there's a Democratic majority this year. But, perhaps more importantly, some members of the law-enforcement community are speaking out in favor of it.

Police Officer Bradley Jardis, speaking on behalf of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a national group that supports the legalization of marijuana, testified that prosecuting marijuana offenders, who are typically nonviolent, does more harm than good.

"In my experience, I've never gone to a fight call or domestic violence call where it's only because of marijuana," he said.

But Weed - who is co-sponsoring his proposal with Republican Reps. Steve Vaillancourt of Manchester and Paul Ingbretson of Pike - said he realizes there are real obstacles to overcome in convincing people that marijuana shouldn't be illegal.

I think it's very hard to change people's minds, and I think it's probably been 60 or 70 years that (messages about the dangers of marijuana) were drilled into them," he said.

Weed and Ingbretson also are sponsoring bills to legalize medical marijuana use and allow farmers to grow industrial hemp, which is not a drug.

 

imported_squirrel_master

what a f@#kin idiot. has it not been proven in studies that it's not a "gateway drug" as the 80's propaganda suggests?

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BillieBudd

I would like to remind the learned Chief Briggs that caffeine is also a gateway drug....so why not ban Cola and coffee???
The outcry from the powers that be in NH is a bit hypocritical seeing as how the state spends a whole lot of money advertising cheap liquor and cigarettes on Boston radio and television..
It reminds me of the Committee to Keep Nevada Respectable formed to block the recent initiative. This nonsense coming from a place where you can buy alcohol 24 hours a day, gamble yourself into insolvency and pay to get sexually serviced by redhead twins if you so desire…uh huh!!!

newgrowerNY

Please .. these guys are reading from the US Goverment issue " 'How to Keep marijuana illegal' for Dummies" book


It is when some shmoe wants to use drugs for an excuse for his/her mistakes

Yep .. hes right .. Drink till your drunk enought to beat your wife and kids .. thats the message we want to send.

How about the 1940 - 2007 Propaganda

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Disclaimer: I love to grow

king cola

For New Hampshire having the logo- "Live Free Or Die", they even have it on their marker plates, some of these locals must not take the saying too seriously. Vermont basicaly has the same saying and that state borders parts of New Hampshire. That's 2 states next to each other that have pushed toward either legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana and doesn't give a rats ass about the governments laws against it.

New Hampshire does advertise for cheaper cigarettes, also unlike most nothern states New Hampshire has almost all consumer fireworks legalized except for rockets and firecrackers, but still allows big aerial repeaters that shoot up all kinds of exploding shells and fireballs into the air to be sold while other states ban anything that goes in the air or explodes saying the stuff is too dangerous. I love fireworks and think they should be legalized everywhere but they pose more harm than marijuana ever could, but New Hampshire residents will allow them but not marijuana!

South Carolina should start voting for marijuana too. The southern states are the biggest advertisers for tobacco. Just about every billboard on I-95 down south has a advertisement for cigarettes or fireworks and has big stores selling both on almost every exit off the highway.

 

1tokeovertheline

I find it quite ironic that the guy sponsoring the bill has the last name Weed.

Nappy Nabby

They wont vote in favor of decriminalizing because it would be detrimental to thier politcal carreer. They could care a less weather or not it was legal. If It was the "in" thing to vote "yes" then they would. Weeds perception in society needs to change, then the laws will change.

biggdoc12

what ever happened to legalizing it, because it's our given rights as americans. why does there have to be medical benefits? alcohol has no benefits at all, hell it's a strait up poison, an it's legal. i guess since we're getting stonded, minding our own business and not becoming violent, destroying shit, and hurting other people because it isn't legal, is no reason to legalize it. it's not legal because of money. there's such a wide range of uses and benefits, not to mention money to be made from it, that pharmacutical and oil companys would shit their pants the day it did become legal. why u ask? cause their stocks would plumit strait through the floor. and we don't want that do we? that's just the beginning.

EarthWorm

We need more visibility right now in New Hampshire!



Check this out (from a New Hampshire community forum)

Friday, January 19, 2007
Leave N.H. law on marijuana in place

The heat seems to have left the debate over use and sale of marijuana in New Hampshire, but we're not ready to accept that laws against its use are too harsh.

Lawmakers and law enforcement officials are debating marijuana again this session of the Legislature. While we don't seem to be hearing the passionate pleas of past debates, we still feel there is cause to be on the side of caution.

Last year, our bills didn't make it out of committee, & this guy is saying he's hearing even less this year, than last? We need to stir up some conversation in New Hampshire!

He says a bunch of other stuff, too, that just made me mad, but I understand that he is uneducated, & it's partially my fault.

He ends up saying, "There is no substantive reason to tinker with the law against the sale and use of marijuana and we trust the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee will find the bill 'inexpedient to legislate'."

Read the entire text here (its pretty brief):
Foster's Online, Dover, New Hampshire

Is does not matter what state you live in. Please share your knowledge & make your voice be heard. People need to hear it! True, this bill probably won't get out of committee this year, either, but we have this window of opportunity for interest in this subject. The more people we educate now, the more will be in favor of it next year. I know we can stir them up enough to get some governmental attention!


My next post will contain links to places you can go online to New Hampshire & educate the general public, anonymously or not, your choice.

EarthWorm

That's right, Nappy! Exactly right! We must change perception. But, we can't do it here. We've got to go to them, meet them where they are. Then, we will make it the "in" thing. We will do this by putting prohibitionists to shame, by exposing their lies...opening the eyes of the sheeple who believe them, such as most law enforcement officers, district attorneys, & other officials. We have the facts to prove them wrong, but we must present them to them, not just to each other.

Here is a short list of places where you can speak out for legalization in New Hampshire, as well as all over the U.S., because when we get a national bill, these same disciples will be writing in support of that one, too. No doubt. Guaranteed.


Union Leader
UnionLeader.com
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· Our mailing address: The Union Leader, Attn.: Letters Editor, P.O.Box 9555, Manchester, NH 03108-9555.


WMUR Channel 9, New Hampshire
Community Message Board Forum: WMUR.com - Home

This forum, owned by a major TV station, is so highly moderated, you can’t start a new topic. You have to request that the moderators open it, and they get back to you via e-mail, so if your e-mail address is wrong, they just delete your request, and your account.

I requested they start a new topic on the pending legislation on legalizing marijuana. I noted that it would probably get a lot of interest. I didn’t have the pot-smoking figures, as I saw them on Google not too long ago. They have a very high incidence of pot-smoking in that state. Wish I’d taken those figures.

I’ll come back and let you all know if they opened that topic for me. These forums are very, very important because they allow people to ask us questions. We must remember to use our spell check. If they think our brains are fried, they probably won’t put much stock into what we’re saying. And, whatever we say, we must keep it SOUNDING SANE. Please, do not say that marijuana should be legal because it is the god you worship! This may shock you, but most people think that kind of belief is deranged, and society does not want a deranged person walking around smoking pot on the streets. God forbid, that person might try to TALK to them! J So, if that is you, then fine, but please don’t go posting that and mess things up for the rest of us…unless you are a cop and that is your plan.
Don’t cuss, don’t insult anyone, and if necessary, agree to disagree and go on. I’ve found that the people I convert with these exchanges are rarely the ones I had the direct conversation with, but rather the silent, thinking reader.

Topix.net, New Hampshire Forum:
New Hampshire Forum
The thread has already been started over there! Two of us are posting in defense of legalization. Please go add your comments, and give them a dose of education! Let people know why it makes sense to legalize marijuana!


Concord Monitor Online
Letters to the Editor/Opinions
Concord Monitor Online
They want your e-mail address and phone number.



I created an e-mail list just for activists fighting to legalize marijuana. The entire list is set up to equip us with knowledge, so that we can go out & enlighten the unenlightened. This is a no-pressure list. Just send an occasional letter, call, or fax, etc., or even just forward the assignments to other forums &/or e-mail lists.

For more information, contact me at manopeace222@thefreesite.com
or send an e-mail to nomoproh-subscribe@yahoogroups.com