HB 237-FN-A - AS INTRODUCED
2021 SESSION
21-0009
04/05
HOUSE BILL 237-FN-A
AN ACT relative to the legalization and regulation of cannabis and making appropriations
therefor.
SPONSORS: Rep. Conley, Straf. 13; Rep. McWilliams, Merr. 27; Rep. Chase, Straf. 18; Rep.
Labranche, Hills. 22; Rep. Wilhelm, Hills. 42; Rep. Moran, Hills. 34; Rep.
Cushing, Rock. 21; Sen. Reagan, Dist 17
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
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ANALYSIS
This bill establishes procedures for the legalization, regulation, and taxation of cannabis; the
licensing and regulation of cannabis establishments; and makes appropriations therefor.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
 HB 237-FN-A - AS INTRODUCED
21-0009
04/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty One
AN ACT relative to the legalization and regulation of cannabis and making appropriations
therefor.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 1 Purpose and Findings. The general court hereby finds that:
2 I. In the interest of allowing law enforcement to focus on violent and property crimes,
3 generating revenue for education, prevention, treatment, and recovery related to the use of both
4 legal and illegal drugs and for other public purposes, and advancing individual freedom, the people
5 of the state of New Hampshire find and declare that the use of cannabis by a person 21 years of age
6 or older should be legal and subject to reasonable regulation and taxation.
7 II. In the interest of the health and public safety of our citizenry, the people of the state of
8 New Hampshire further find and declare that cannabis should be regulated in a manner similar to
9 alcohol so that:
10 (a) Individuals will have to show proof of age before purchasing cannabis.
11 (b) Selling, distributing, or transferring cannabis to minors and other individuals under
12 the age of 21 shall remain illegal.
13 (c) Driving under the influence of cannabis shall remain illegal.
14 (d) Legitimate, taxpaying business people, and not criminal actors, will conduct sales of
15 cannabis.
16 (e) Cannabis sold in this state will be tested, labeled, and subject to additional
17 regulations to ensure that consumers are informed and protected.
18 (f) Some of the tax revenue generated from legal cannabis sales will be used to support
19 programs for education, prevention, treatment, and recovery related to the use of both legal and
20 illegal drugs.
21 2 New Subparagraph; Application of Receipts; Cannabis Control Fund. Amend RSA 6:12, I(b)
22 by inserting after subparagraph (364) the following new subparagraph:
23 (365) Moneys deposited in the cannabis control fund established in RSA 318-F:23.
24 3 Alcoholic Beverages; Statement From Purchaser as to Age. Amend RSA 179:8, I(d) to read as
25 follows:
26 (d) A valid passport [from] issued by the United States or by a country with whom the
27 United States maintains diplomatic relations.
28 4 Controlled Drug Act; Drug Forfeiture Fund. Amend RSA 318-B:17-c, I to read as follows:
29 I. There is hereby established within the office of the state treasurer a special revolving fund
30 to be designated as the drug forfeiture fund. This fund shall be administered by the attorney
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1 general and may be used to pay the costs of local, county and state drug related investigations, costs
2 of collection of baseline data related to marijuana regulation, as well as drug control law
3 enforcement programs within New Hampshire. The fund may also be used to pay extraordinary
4 costs of local, county and state drug prosecutions and trial expenses.
5 5 Model Drug Dealer Liability Act; Definition of Illegal Drug. Amend RSA 318-C:4, I to read as
6 follows:
7 I. "Illegal drug" means any drug which is a schedule I-IV drug under RSA 318-B, the
8 possession, use, manufacture, sale, or transportation of which is not otherwise authorized
9 by law.
10 6 New Chapter; Regulation of Cannabis. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 318-E the
11 following new chapter:
12 CHAPTER 318-F
13 REGULATION OF CANNABIS
14 318-F:1 Definitions. In this chapter:
15 I. “Alternative treatment center” means an entity as defined in RSA 126-X:1, I.
16 II. "Consumer" means a person 21 years of age or older who purchases cannabis or cannabis
17 products for personal use by a person 21 years of age or older, but not for resale.
18 III. "Commission" means the cannabis control commission established in RSA 318-F:7.
19 IV. "Department" means the department of health and human services.
20 V. “Disqualifying offense” means a violation of a state or federal controlled substances law
21 that was classified as a felony in the jurisdiction in which the person was convicted, but not
22 including:
23 (a) An offense for which the sentence, including any term of probation, incarceration, or
24 supervised release was completed 5 or more years earlier; or
25 (b) An offense prior to the effective date of this chapter that consisted of cultivation or
26 possession of an amount of cannabis not exceeding the possession limit.
27 VI. “Immature cannabis plant” means a cannabis plant that has not flowered and that does
28 not have buds that may be observed by visual examination.
29 VII. "Cannabis" means all parts of the plant of the genus cannabis whether growing or not,
30 the seeds thereof, the resin extracted from any part of the plant, and every compound, manufacture,
31 salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or its resin, including cannabis
32 concentrate. "Cannabis" shall not include hemp, fiber produced from the stalks, oil, or cake made
33 from the seeds of the plant, sterilized seed of the plant that is incapable of germination, or the
34 weight of any other ingredient combined with cannabis to prepare topical or oral administrations,
35 food, drink, or other product.
36 VIII. "Cannabis accessories" or “cannabis paraphernalia” means any equipment, products, or
37 materials of any kind that are used, intended for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating,
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1 cultivating, growing, harvesting, composting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing,
2 processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, vaporizing, or containing
3 cannabis, or for ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing cannabis into the human body.
4 IX. "Cannabis cultivation facility" or “cultivation facility” means an entity registered to
5 cultivate, prepare, and package cannabis, and sell cannabis to retail cannabis stores, to cannabis
6 product manufacturing facilities, and to other cannabis cultivation facilities, but not to consumers.
7 A cannabis cultivation facility shall not produce cannabis concentrates, tinctures, extracts, or other
8 cannabis products.
9 X. "Cannabis establishment" means a cannabis cultivation facility, a cannabis testing
10 facility, a cannabis product manufacturing facility, a retail cannabis store, a cannabis transporter, or
11 any other type of cannabis business authorized and registered by the commission.
12 XI. "Cannabis product manufacturing facility" or “product manufacturing facility" means an
13 entity registered to purchase cannabis, to manufacture, prepare, and package cannabis products,
14 and sell cannabis and cannabis products to other cannabis product manufacturing facilities and to
15 retail cannabis stores, but not to consumers.
16 XII. "Cannabis products" means concentrated cannabis products and cannabis products that
17 are comprised of cannabis and other ingredients and are intended for use or consumption, such as,
18 but not limited to, edible products, ointments, and tinctures.
19 XIII. "Cannabis testing facility" or “testing facility” means an entity registered to test
20 cannabis for potency and contaminants.
21 XIV. “Cannabis transporter” means an entity registered to transport cannabis between
22 cannabis establishments.
23 XV. “Municipality" means a city, town, or an unincorporated place.
24 XVI. “Possession limit” means:
25 (a) One ounce of cannabis in plant form;
26 (b) Five grams of concentrated cannabis, including hashish;
27 (c) Cannabis products containing no more than 500 milligrams of THC;
28 (d) Six cannabis plants, no more than 3 of which may be mature; and provided that no
29 more than 12 plants, and no more than 6 mature plants, may be cultivated at any single dwelling
30 unit regardless of the number of adults over the age of 21; and
31 (e) Any additional cannabis produced by the person’s cannabis plants, provided that any
32 amount of cannabis in excess of one ounce of cannabis, 5 grams of concentrated cannabis, and
33 cannabis products containing no more than 500 milligrams of THC shall be possessed in the same
34 secure facility where the plants were cultivated.
35 XVII. "Public place" means any place to which the general public has access.
36 XVIII. "Retail cannabis store" or “retail store” means an entity registered to purchase
37 cannabis from cannabis cultivation facilities, to purchase cannabis and cannabis products from
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1 cannabis product manufacturing facilities, and to sell, transfer, and deliver cannabis and cannabis
2 products to consumers.
3 XIX. "Resident" means a natural person who:
4 (a) Is domiciled in New Hampshire; and
5 (b) Has maintained a place of abode in New Hampshire for at least the past 2 years,
6 unless the individual was homeless and residing in New Hampshire for at least 51 percent of the last
7 2 years.
8 XX. “Inflation” means the 12-month percentage change in the consumer price index for all
9 urban consumers, northeast region as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States
10 Department of Labor.
11 318-F:2 Personal Use of Cannabis.
12 I. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the following acts, if undertaken by a person
13 21 years of age or older, shall not be illegal under New Hampshire law or the law of any political
14 subdivision of the state or be a basis for seizure or forfeiture of assets under New Hampshire law:
15 (a) Possessing, consuming, using, displaying, growing, obtaining, purchasing,
16 processing, producing, or transporting an amount of cannabis that does not exceed the possession
17 limit, except that no adult other than one who is acting in his or her capacity as a staffer of a
18 cannabis product manufacturer may perform extractions using solvents other than water, glycerin,
19 propylene glycol, vegetable oil, or food-grade ethanol.
20 (b) Transporting no more than 6 cannabis plants, including no more than 3 mature
21 plants, to his or her primary residence.
22 (c) Transferring an amount of cannabis that does not exceed the possession limit to a
23 person who is 21 years of age or older without remuneration. For purposes of this section, a transfer
24 is for remuneration if cannabis is given away contemporaneously with another transaction between
25 the same parties, if a gift of cannabis is offered or advertised in conjunction with an offer for sale of
26 goods or services, or if the gift of cannabis is contingent upon a separate transaction for goods or
27 services.
28 (d) Transferring or selling cannabis seeds or up to 6 cannabis seedlings to cannabis
29 cultivation facilities.
30 (e) Transferring cannabis, including cannabis products, to a cannabis testing facility.
31 (f) Controlling property where the acts described under this section occur.
32 (g) Assisting another person who is 21 years of age or older in any of the acts described
33 under this section.
34 II. No law enforcement officer employed by an agency that receives state or local
35 government funds shall expend any state or local resources, including the officer’s time, to effect any
36 arrest or seizure of cannabis, or conduct any investigation, on the sole basis of activity the officer
37 believes to constitute a violation of federal law if the officer has reason to believe that such activity is
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1 in compliance with this chapter, nor shall any such officer expend any state or local resources,
2 including the officer’s time, to provide any information or logistical support related to such activity to
3 any federal law enforcement authority or prosecuting entity.
4 318-F:3 Restrictions on Personal Cultivation; Penalty.
5 I. Except as allowed under RSA 126-X, no person who is 21 years of age or older shall
6 cultivate cannabis plants except as provided in this section.
7 II. Cannabis plants shall not be cultivated in a location where the plants are subject to view
8 from public property or from another person’s private property without the use of binoculars,
9 aircraft, or other optical aids.
10 III. A person who cultivates cannabis shall take reasonable precautions to ensure the plants
11 are secure from access by a person under 21 years of age. Cultivating cannabis in an enclosed,
12 locked space to which unauthorized persons do not have access, or other similar security
13 precautions, shall be prima facie evidence of reasonable precautions.
14 IV. Cannabis cultivation shall only occur on property the cultivator legally owns, leases, or
15 controls, or with the consent of the person who legally owns, leases, or controls the property.
16 V. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a violation and may be fined not
17 more than $500 for a first offense and not more than $1,000 for a second or subsequent offense.
18 318-F:4 Smoking or Vaporizing of Cannabis in Public Prohibited; Penalty. No person shall
19 smoke or vaporize cannabis in a public place. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of
20 a violation and may be fined not more than $100.
21 318-F:5 Smoking or Vaporizing of Cannabis in a Moving Vehicle Prohibited; Penalty.
22 I. No person shall consume cannabis while driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle on
23 a way, or while operating or attempting to operate an off-highway recreational vehicle, snowmobile,
24 boat, vessel, aircraft, or other motorized device used for transportation.
25 II. No person shall smoke or vaporize cannabis while the person is a passenger in a motor
26 vehicle that is being driven on any way.
27 III. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a violation and may be fined not
28 more than $500, or have his or her driver's license suspended for up to 6 months, or both, for the
29 first violation.
30 IV. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a violation and may be fined not
31 more than $1,000 or have his or her driver's license suspended for up to one year, or both, for a
32 second or subsequent violation.
33 V. In this section, “way” shall have the same meaning as in RSA 265-A:44.
34 318-F:6 Cannabis Accessories Authorized.
35 I. Except as provided by this section, it shall not be illegal under New Hampshire law or be a
36 basis for seizure or forfeiture of assets under New Hampshire law for a person 21 years of age or
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1 older to manufacture, possess, or purchase cannabis accessories, or to distribute or sell cannabis
2 accessories to a person who is 21 years of age or older.
3 II. Except as provided by this section, a person who is 21 years of age or older, or a business
4 entity, may manufacture, possess, obtain, and purchase cannabis paraphernalia, and may distribute,
5 deliver, or sell cannabis paraphernalia to a person who is 21 years of age or older.
6 III. No person or entity shall manufacture, distr