New plan to legalize pot for adults emerges
Jan. 21—CONCORD — A leading House Republican with bipartisan support is proposing to create a state-run monopoly to operate the retail sale of marijuana to adults.
But the innovative proposal ran into plenty of skepticism and outright opposition at its initial public hearing Thursday, ranging from those against ever making marijuana legal to others who want a free market to prevail.
House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee Chairman Daryl Abbas, R-Salem, said his bill (HB 1598) putting the State Liquor Commission in charge of marijuana sales could generate up to $250 million a year in profit, with the first $25 million set aside for substance abuse treatment.
"We have the model, and it has been proven to be a successful operation," Abbas said, referring to the state control of liquor sales, which generated $175 million in profit last year.
If the bill were to become law, New Hampshire would be the first state to control all sales of recreational marijuana or cannabis.
Abbas wants to use 90% of the profits to reduce the state education property tax, which could represent significant tax relief, he said.
The state Department of Revenue Administration estimated last year that New Hampshire would net $36 million if it legalized the sale by private retailers and imposed a 9% sales tax and a 5% transfer tax.
Abbas said the state would get at least seven times that much profit if, as with alcohol, it sold marijuana tax-free in separate state-run stores.
"The difference is the markup on cannabis is a lot higher than liquor, so there is a lot more revenue to be made," Abbas said.
"This puts us in a position where we are selling a better product for a competitive price."
Under the bill, local governing bodies could vote against locating any state-run cannabis store in city or town limits, he said.
Opposition
Bedford Police Chief John Bryfonski, speaking for the New Hampshire Association of Police Chiefs, said state control of marijuana sales would lead to increases in crime and motor vehicle accidents, issues seen in other states that have legalized it.
He said New Hampshire already has seen the "spillover effect" of offenses following the legalization of marijuana sales in neighboring states.
"Is it prevalent already now? Yes, but this bill will certainly increase cannabis use among our most vulnerable population, which is our youth," Bryfonski said.
The state police also registered its opposition.
Several leaders of Communities for Alcohol and Drug-Free Youth warned that youth risk behavior surveys show that more than a third of teens have tried cannabis and report it's much easier to get than alcohol.
"Why are we considering legalizing another addictive substance that has severe economic and medical impacts on our youth?" asked Emily Shanahan, the group's outreach and communications director.
Neil Hubacker, director of the Church Ambassador Network of New Hampshire in Manchester, called the bill "ill-advised," considering the state is grappling with the aftermath of an opioid epidemic as well as greater demands on the state's mental health system.
For 15 years, Matt Simon has lobbied New Hampshire to legalize marijuana use, but this was the first time he opposed such a bill.
Simon is director of public and government relations for Prime Alternative Treatment Centers of New Hampshire, one of three nonprofits that sell medical marijuana to eligible patients in the state.
A legislative commission in 2019 recommended the state allow private retailers to sell marijuana with low taxes to encourage more out-of-staters to buy it here.
"These (private sector) models are generally working well, so why would New Hampshire want to deviate from what other states are doing?" Simon said.
The New Hampshire Cannabis Association and Americans for Prosperity also endorsed legislation that would let any company sell recreational marijuana.
The liquor commission took no position on the bill.
The SLC estimated it would cost about $5 million a year to manage 10 new stores where only marijuana would be sold.
The start-up costs for these stores would be nearly $8 million, the agency said.
