New Hampshire Representative Is Pushing to Legalize Marijuana

New Hampshire has taken steps forward toward ending prohibition in the state. Medical marijuana is legal in the state, but lawmakers like Cushing want full legalization. Cushing says that prohibition makes “lawbreakers out of adults who use marijuana in the privacy of their homes, encourages crime and a black market, drains the economy, exposes consumers to unnecessary risks, and wastes precious tax dollars.”

Cushing also says that prohibition fuels the black market and drains economies, Fosters reports.  Cushing says it’s common sense to end marijuana prohibition. The opioid crisis is raging across the country, and where medical marijuana is available, 24.8-percent fewer overdose deaths occur.

New Hampshire has yet to pass recreational marijuana legalization, which Cushing says could be an issue once the legal market in Massachusetts and other neighboring states gets going. He believes that typical vacationers, and even locals, will travel across those state lines or choose a marijuana-legal state for a vacation instead of New Hampshire.

A recent University of New Hampshire poll shows that 68-percent of New Hampshire’s population supports recreational marijuana legalization. Cushing wants regulation, taxation and a legal industry to emerge in the state. He believes that the proper path to minimize potential harms is through a sensible regulatory plan and a lot of education.

Efforts to legalize recreational marijuana in New Hampshire are expected to pick back up when the new session starts in January.