Live free or high: New Hampshire becomes 19th state to allow medical marijuana
Though New Hampshire Gov. Maggie
Hassan signed the state's medical
marijuana measure into law on Tuesday,
she worked to have a provision removed
that would have allowed patients to grow
their own plants at home.
New England is going green.
New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan signed
a new medical marijuana bill into law on
Tuesday making her state the 19th in the
nation, and the last remaining one in New
England, to permit doctors to prescribe pot
to treat a host of illnesses.
RELATED: HASH'S PLACE IN LEGAL POT
WORLD
‘‘Allowing doctors to provide relief to patients
through the use of appropriately regulated
and dispensed medical marijuana is the
compassionate and right policy for the state
of New Hampshire, and this legislation
ensures that we approach this policy in the
right way with measures to prevent abuse,’’
Hassan said in a statement.
Under the new law, New Hampshire residents
diagnosed by a physician would be issued
medical marijuana cards and be allowed to
purchase up to 2 ounces of the drug from a
nonprofit dispensary.
RELATED: VIDEO: ‘MARIJUANA MOMS’
GATHER FOR HIGH CLASS DINNER PARTY
"This legislation is long overdue and comes
as a relief to the many seriously ill patients
throughout New Hampshire who will benefit
from safe access to medical marijuana," Matt
Simon, a New Hampshire-based legislative
analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project, said
in a statement. "Those suffering from
debilitating conditions like cancer and
multiple sclerosis deserve legal, safe, and
reliable access to medical marijuana."
Hasan successfully removed a provision that
was in the initial bill that would have allowed
patients to grow their own marijuana at
home.
RELATED: MARIJUANA PIPE FOUND IN
BURGER KING KIDS MEAL
"The vast majority of Americans recognize
the medical benefits of marijuana and
believe people with serious illnesses should
have safe and legal access to it," Simon
said. "We applaud our elected officials for
enacting a law to protect patients, and we
hope legislators in other states will follow
suit."
Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, Ohio and
Minnesota are all considering similar
legislation to legalize medical marijuana.
