New Hampshire Lawmakers Take Up Bill To Let Voters Legalize ‘A Modest Amount’ Of Marijuana At The Ballot This November

New Hampshire House lawmakers have taken up a bipartisan bill that seeks to
put a constitutional amendment on the state ballot that would let voters
decide if they want to legalize “a modest amount” of marijuana for adults
21 and older.

As lawmakers in both chambers consider a variety of cannabis reform
proposals for the 2026 session, the House Criminal Justice and Public
Safety Committee on Wednesday took up legislation from Rep. Jonah Wheeler
(D) that would put the issue before voters.

The proposal would allow adults 21 and older to “possess a modest amount of
cannabis for their personal use.” If enacted, the constitutional amendment
would appear on the November 2026 state ballot.

*Here’s the text of what would go to before on the November ballot under
CACR19:*

“Are you in favor of amending the first part of the constitution by
inserting after article 2-b a new article to read as follows:

[Art.] 2-c. [Adult possession of cannabis.] All adults who are 21 years of
age or older shall have the right to possess a modest amount of cannabis
intended for their personal consumption.”

Testifying at the hearing, Wheeler called New Hampshire an “island of
illegality” surrounded by other states that have already legalized
marijuana.

“This very simply would put on the ballot in the next November election
whether or not the people of the state of New Hampshire want to legalize
cannabis,” he said. “And I think it is given where they are in the polls…
The very bare minimum that we could do in this legislature to put the
complex issues that we seem to not be able to find a solution to, to the
people.”

Rep. Heath Howard (D), who is cosponsoring the proposal, said lawmakers
“need to address a fundamental failure of leadership that has persisted
within these halls for far too long.”

“For years, people of New Hampshire have been watching their neighbors
across New England—from Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts— [and] even Canada
embrace common sense legalization,” he said. “While the government here in
Concord has consistently failed to provide even a basic viable option for
simple usage and possession, this legislative stalemate has ignored the
clear will of our constituents, with over 70 percent of Granite Staters
consistently favoring reform.”

Rep. Jared Sullivan (D), another cosponsor of the measure, said “it’s time
for us to stop arresting people” for cannabis.

“I think it’s pretty sad that in New Hampshire, a state that prides itself
in trying to be less regulatory and less big government, we continue to
arrest people for crimes that are not crimes in most states—all the states
around us, and many states in this country,” he said. “I think it’s
unfortunate that in this process, we ruin the lives of thousands of people
and prevent them from being able to participate in all sorts of parts of
society because of the criminal record that comes along with these arrests.”

Beside Wheeler, the legislation has nine cosponsors—a mix of Democrats and
Republicans that includes Rep. Jared Sullivan (D), who is championing a
separate legalization measure that cleared the House earlier this month.

In the Senate, meanwhile, the Judiciary Committee last week took up a bill
from Sen. Donovan Fenton (D) that would allow adults over the age of 21 to
legally possess up to four ounces of cannabis in plant form and 20 grams of
concentrated cannabis products, as well as other products containing no
more than 2,000 milligrams of THC.

The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) projects that the bill would generate an
estimated $27-56 million per year in revenue once the market matures.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) has already threatened to veto any legalization bill
that reaches her desk, though the constitutional amendment proposal would
not require gubernatorial action.

The governor said in August that her position on the reform would not
change even if the federal government moved forward with rescheduling the
plant. Since then, President Donald Trump has directed the attorney general
to finalize the process of moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III
of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

Meanwhile, the House also approved a bill this month from Rep. Wendy Thomas
(D) that would allow medical marijuana dispensaries (known as “alternative
treatment centers,” or ATCs, in the state) to convert their dispensary
licenses to become for-profit entities. HB 54, which passed on the consent
calendar with other legislation, previously advanced unanimously out of the
House Finance Committee.

Part of the motivation behind the legislation is the fact that medical
marijuana dispensaries don’t qualify for federal non-profit status. But in
the state, they’re considered non-profit organizations, which has resulted
in disproportionately increased operating costs.

This month, the House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee
also took up a pair of bipartisan bills to legalize the regulated use of
psilocybin for medical purposes.


*— Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon
supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps,
charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.*


*Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on
Patreon to get access. —*

Other bills filed for 2026 include two proposals to protect the gun rights
of medical cannabis patients.

There are also a few pieces of legislation aimed at regulating hemp
sales—an issue that’s receiving heightened attention given that Congress
passed, and Trump signed, an appropriations bill that would effectively
re-criminalize most consumable hemp products.

Meanwhile, after the House added provisions to a Senate-passed bill last
year that would allow medical marijuana patients to grow cannabis at home, those
measures were stripped in conference.

*Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.*

The post New Hampshire Lawmakers Take Up Bill To Let Voters Legalize ‘A
Modest Amount’ Of Marijuana At The Ballot This November appeared first on Marijuana
Moment.