I’ve been proud to see the NH House of Representatives pass legalization bills four times in recent years, including twice this year. It’s been disappointing, however, to see the Senate fail to act on this long overdue reform. Cannabis is safer than alcohol — it doesn’t cause fatal overdoses and isn’t linked to violence. The “Live Free or Die” State should not be punishing adults for using cannabis responsibly, nor should it be driving sales to the unregulated underground market. Unfortunately, however, the latest proposal, HB 1598, simply would not work. It would only allow state-run stores to distribute cannabis, which is preempted by federal law. As Vanderbilt Law Professor Robert Mikos explained in the Journal of Health Care Law and Policy, "State cultivation and distribution of marijuana would clearly pose a direct conflict with the CSA. The state itself would be violating Section 841’s prohibition on the cultivation/distribution of marijuana, no less than private dispensaries do now. It would be physically impossible for the state employees tasked with operating a state dispensary to perform their required duties while also complying with the CSA’s prohibition against marijuana trafficking.” New Hampshire can, however, license and regulate private entities that dispense cannabis, just as the state already does for medical cannabis. Please work to amend HB 1598 to make it workable. The state simply cannot require its employees to commit federal felonies.

There’s a reason the 37 states, including our own, that have medical cannabis laws don’t put the state in charge of distributing cannabis. Federal law stands in the way of that approach. Utah briefly considered state-run distribution but revised its law after county attorneys explained that doing so would put state employees at risk under federal law. Utah’s Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings noted, “the federal Controlled Substances Act is directly in conflict with what the state statute [under the original law] requires health departments to do. There is no exemption in federal law for being basically a marijuana distributor — a dealer — for a county. There is no exception.” The same legal issue applies to legalization: state-run stores are a poison pill unless and until federal law changes. Yet HB 1598, which was passed by the House on February 16, takes that approach. Please work to fix HB 1598 or work to pass one of the legalization bills that doesn’t have this fatal flaw. Cannabis prohibition has been a colossal policy failure. Please make sure it’s replaced by something that actually works.

I hope you agree it’s past time to legalize, tax, and regulate cannabis for adults 21 and older. Eighteen other states and Canada — all of our neighbors — have taken this more sensible approach. Prohibition ensures that production and sales are completely unregulated. Unlike licensed, regulated cannabis businesses, illicit sellers operate virtually anywhere and have no incentive not to sell to minors. Taxing and regulating cannabis would displace the underground market, creating thousands of good jobs and tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue. As a state legislator, you have an opportunity to help us move away from the same old failed policies. I hope you will support legalization but that you will do so in a way that actually works. The law professor who literally wrote the book on cannabis and federal law has explained that state-run monopolies are not possible as long as federal prohibition persists. Please support legalization and ensure it does not take the misguided approach of HB 1598.