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Friday, March 22, 2013
STATE
The New Hampshire
Marijuana approved for medical use
Medical marijuana bill passed with a promise to relax new usage laws House passes marijuana decriminalization bill CONCORD — New Hampshire advocates of medical marijuana won overwhelming support Wednesday in the House for a bill that would sanction five marijuana dispensaries and allow patients or caregivers to grow up to three plants for medical use. The bipartisan vote of 286-64 marked the fourth time in six years such a medical marijuana bill has won House approval. Two previous measures were vetoed by then-Gov. John Lynch; a third was killed in the Senate. “The intent of this legislation is to assist a very small minority of New Hampshire citizens who are suffering terribly from cancer, other terminal illnesses and debilitating diseases,” Rep. Steve Schmidt, RWolfeboro, said. The vote spread gives the bill a veto-proof majority in the House, although Gov. Maggie Hassan has said, and repeated Wednesday, that she supports a tightly regulated medical marijuana program. Hassan said her concern is over the state’s ability to regulate a home-grown option. Senate Republican Leader Jeb Bradley said earlier in the week
he believes a medical marijuana bill has enough support in the Senate, but the House version would likely be sent back with significant changes. The most recent measure to pass the Senate allowed for patients to grow the plant at home and did not provide for any dispensaries. Schmidt, a member of the committee that drafted the bill, said the legislation would affect only about 600 to 800 residents. Under the measure, patients would have to show they have a qualifying illness and corresponding symptoms as well as a relationship of at least three months with a provider. Some qualifying illnesses include: Cancer, glaucoma, HIV virus or AIDS, Hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and PTSD. In addition, patients would have to have tried and not responded to other treatments. No one with a felony or drug conviction could be a caregiver or dispensary employee. “We think we’ve got a bill here that is among the most tightly controlled in the nation,” Schmidt said. Rep. John Cebrowski, R-Bedford, argued that legalizing medical
marijuana sends the wrong message to young people that marijuana isn’t harmful. Also, he said, growing and smoking marijuana is not an exact science and better pharmaceutical alternatives exist. “It would be terribly naive on our part not to realize that scope creep from medical use to full blown legalization of marijuana is the underlying agenda as has been proven in other states,” Cebrowski said. Recently, the House has shown a willingness to relax marijuana laws. Matt Simon with the Marijuana Policy Project noted that a bill to legalize pot garnered 112 House votes earlier this year, although it did not pass. This month, the House also plans to take up legislation that would decriminalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. Marijuana is decriminalized in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island; similar legislation is under consideration in Vermont. Those states all have medical marijuana laws as well. Hassan has said she does not support changing marijuana laws beyond its medical use.
CONCORD — The New Hampshire House passed a bill Thursday decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana for the fourth time in five years. But it’s still unlikely the state will join its neighbors in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut in decriminalizing marijuana, as Gov. Maggie Hassan has said she’s not in favor of decriminalization and the Senate has shot down each of the recent attempts by the House to pass such a law. Bill supporters argued it’s time to end the prohibition of marijuana, which they said doesn’t have public support and is a financial and regulatory burden on the state. In addition, they said legal substances like alcohol and tobacco have worse health and societal impacts. “A criminal offense and a criminal record can do much more harm than a small amount of marijuana,” Rep. Joel Winters, DNashua said, during debate on the House floor. The House voted 214-115 to
State defense, aerospace firms eye NH Briefs more exports, opportunities Cold snap has affects maple farmers By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press
CONCORD — New Hampshire’s aerospace and defense industry companies are working together to find opportunities overseas. The New Hampshire Aerospace and Defense Export Consortium held its first formal meeting on Wednesday, just as many of its members are starting to feel the effects of the across-the-board federal spending cuts that began March 1. New Hampshire has about 300 aerospace and defense-related companies, and the industry is growing, but it is also deeply affected by what happens in Washington, said Christopher Way, interim director of the state Division of Economic Development. “We’re seeing the hiring that’s starting to flatten. We’re seeing expansions that aren’t occurring and we’re also seeing contracts that aren’t being offered,” he said. “We want to take a sector that has a pronounced impact on New Hampshire — aerospace and defense — and we want to do something more in the attack mode.” About 30 percent of the relevant companies haven’t yet exported their products, Way said. The consortium is aimed at helping them, as well as the more experienced companies that face challenges navigating often confusing export regulations and laws. Members of the group will take turns hosting monthly meetings, and the state is setting up a
private online portal for them to exchange ideas and seek help. “If there’s an issue you’re having or you want to pick someone’s brain, you can either send them a message through the portal or you can start your own discussion group and everyone can feed into that,” said Tina Kasim, of the state’s International Trade Resource Center. Harry Johnson of Profile Metal Forming in Newmarket asked the group to consider some kind of mentoring system to match up experienced companies with those just starting to explore exports. “For a company starting down the path, it would be very helpful to have someone to speak with on various issues,” he said. The group will be focusing on countries that are increasing their defense spending and those that are seeing an increase in business and leisure travel. Among those who attended Wednesday’s meeting, some said they want to do more business in the United Kingdom, while others were focused on South America, Australia and the Middle East. While industry groups focused on exports are common overseas, they are less common in the United States, Way said. “We’ve gotten more interest in this than probably anything in the last five years,” he said. “An industry group like this, that’s common ... but to add the export layer on that, that’s what makes it a little bit different.”
TNH
We have issues...20 pages long
GILFORD — Freezing temperatures have some maple farmers concerned that they won’t have enough sap to boil during the 18th annual Maple Weekend in New Hampshire, just a few days away. “It has been in the teens at night,” said Armand Bolduc of Bolduc Farm in Gilford. “That’s too cold. The trees are frozen.” He told The Citizen there’s no sap flowing right now, preventing his sugarhouse from gathering up gallons of sap to boil this weekend. The farm is one of over 110 sugarhouses in the state scheduled to hold activities. The events usually attract a lot of out-of-state visitors. “It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup, you got
to have a lot of sap stored up to make a boil,” Bolduc said. Bob Hamel, who helps run the Bolduc sugar shack, says if temperatures hold steady in the 40s during the day and there’s sun, the sap can run again. Temperatures also can’t get lower than the 20s. Dennis Cormier of Cormier’s Sugarhouse in Alton said he’s had no sap running for the last three days. “This is not an unusual season,” he said. “I t is just that we all would really like the sap flowing for the weekend.” Hamel said people travel from far and wide to see the production of maple syrup. “it is only a four- to six-week season,” he said.
Man offering to shovel driveways arrested MANCHESTER — Police in Manchester say a man’s story that he was knocking on residents’ doors offering to shovel their driveways for cash turned suspicious when they discovered there were several warrants out for his arrest. Police said they stopped a vehicle on Wednesday to question the occupants, whom they believed were seen banging on doors. A passenger gave a false
name, but was ultimately identified as 26-year-old Timothy Flattery of Manchester. Police said there were warrants for his arrest stemming from a report of copper piping and tools taken from a construction site. Police said Flattery had been identified as selling tools from the construction site to a local pawn shop, resulting in warrants for receiving stolen property and theft, in addition to others.
House rejects reducing assaults to violations CONCORD — The New Hampshire House has rejected a bill that would have reduced the charge for simple assault to a violation if no injury occurred. The House voted 218-111 Thursday to kill the bill. Opponents said kicks, shoves, slaps, grabs or spits might not cause a
visible injury but would cause fear and could lead to more serious assaults. They said it wasn’t enough for someone to face a $100 penalty or 10 hours of community service. Supporters said the current law penalizes people for incidental contact.
pass the bill reducing the penalty for possession of up to a quarter ounce of marijuana to a fine of up to $200. The bill would also require those 18 and under to attend drug rehabilitation classes or face a $1,000 fine. Though the House has passed similar legislation in the past, it is more evidence that the body is increasingly open to marijuana reform. A recent vote on a bill legalizing pot altogether did not pass, but garnered a surprising 112 votes. A bill to tax and regulate marijuana was retained by a House committee for further study, so lawmakers could learn from the implementation of such systems in Washington and Colorado before taking action. Earlier in the week, the House passed a bill legalizing medical marijuana for seriously-ill patients, allowing them to cultivate the drug, and sanctioning a dispensary system in the state. Hassan and the Senate have voiced support for that bill, though it may see changes before landing on the governor’s desk.
House votes to prohibit privatizing prisons CONCORD — The House has voted to prohibit New Hampshire’s corrections commissioner from transferring inmates to a private prison except in an emergency. The House voted 197-136 Thursday to send the Senate a bill that bars the commissioner from entering into a contract with a private or for-profit group to take custody of state or county inmates. The governor could issue an executive order declaring a corrections emergency and authorize the temporary transfer of inmates to a private facility. The transfer would have to be renewed every three months but could not be longer than 21 months. Supporters argued it is the state’s constitutional responsibility to rehabilitate inmates. Opponents argued private prisons should be considered as a way to avoid building new, costly facilities in New Hampshire.
Man runs from mall store with diamond ring NEWINGTON — Police are looking for a man seen running out of a jewelry store at New Hampshire’s Fox Run Mall in Newington with a diamond ring in his hand. Police would not describe the ring taken from Hannoush Jewelers at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. They said it was valued at over $1,000. Sgt. Tim Stuart told Foster’s Daily Democrat the man was seen getting into a waiting car parked outside the main entrance. The vehicle had Massachusetts license plates.