New Hampshire lawmakers will pursue efforts to legalize marijuana for recreational use next year, but their chances seem slim, with Gov.-elect Kelly Ayotte and new state Senate President Sharon Carson in firm opposition.

“Hopes have dimmed to near zero visibility,” Matt Simon, director of public and government relations for GraniteLeaf Cannabis, said Monday. “The only way legalization can possibly happen is if somebody persuades the governor-elect to change her position.”

His company, which has a production facility in Peterborough, is one of three firms approved by the state to grow and sell medical marijuana. Recreational use of cannabis remains illegal in New Hampshire, which is surrounded by states that have legalized the drug.

“There’s always hope,” Simon said. “I’ve been working on this issue for, this will be 18 years, and we’ve seen countless elected officials evolve and decide to support legalization after being educated on the issue and seeing how it’s worked in other states.

“Unfortunately, with Kelly Ayotte, there’s not been any sign, yet at least, that she’s willing to reconsider her position.”

In a Sept. 3 debate on WMUR, Ayotte, a Republican, said she fears legalization could harm public health and safety.

“We have to ask what is the best for the quality of life for the people of New Hampshire,” she said. “When you legalize something, you are sending a different message to our young people, and I don’t want to add to the mental health crisis.”

Advocates for legalization say that the state would have a chance to improve safety through a regulated system that would decrease illicit sales and ensure cannabis is not being mixed with other drugs.

Simon predicts the N.H. House will pass a legalization bill, but, even if the Senate concurs, it’s not likely there would be the required two-thirds support in that chamber, or 16 senators, that would be needed to override Ayotte’s expected veto of the legislation.

Republicans hold a 16-8 majority in the Senate.

Daryl Eames, founder of the N.H. Cannabis Association, said he is “incredibly pessimistic” about chances for legalization next year.

“I firmly believe that until the state of New Hampshire has 16 senators who are willing to stand up against party and pressure and want to legalize the right way for the right reasons and tell the governor, ‘We are going to do it for the people with or without you,’ I don’t think we’re going to get it anytime soon.”

His organization supports legalization done in a way that emphasizes economic opportunity, harm reduction and provides benefits to the widest range of residents.

Eames said House Bill 1633, which the Senate approved, 14-10, last June, didn’t begin to meet these three tests and that contributed to its failure in the House, which narrowly tabled, or removed from further consideration, the measure.

Carson, R-Londonderry, was one of those who were in opposition.

In a May 8 Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on the bill, Carson noted that marijuana is available for sale in nearby states, including Massachusetts.

“Well, if you want it bad enough, go to Massachusetts and buy it,” she said. “Go to Maine. Go to Vermont. Go to Canada. But why do we have to do it here? Why would we change our quality of life because somebody wants marijuana?”

She posited a hypothetical situation in which, if it were legalized, people would be beset by marijuana smoke at public campsites.

“You want to enjoy what New Hampshire has to offer but the people in the camping spot next to you just decide they’re going to smoke marijuana all weekend,” she said.

HB 1633 would have permitted 15 state-licensed stores across New Hampshire to sell cannabis. Adults would have been allowed to possess up to two ounces.

Aspects of the bill were designed to meet the approval of Gov. Chris Sununu, who had long opposed legalization but signaled last session that he would change his mind if certain goals were met, including a limited number of stores and strong state control.

Rep. Jonah Wheeler, D-Peterborough, is the co-sponsor of a legislative service request, a precursor to an actual bill to be considered next year, that would legalize marijuana for recreational use.

“It’s going to be pretty tough to get legalization done in the next biennium,” he said. “That’s why I was so passionate about passing the legislation we had in the last biennium, even though it was far from perfect.”

He said a legalization bill, if passed, could always be improved upon with subsequent legislation.

Wheeler also wants to make it easier for people who have served a sentence for marijuana possession to have the conviction removed from their record. He is the sponsor of a legislative service request to that effect.

In 2017, the state made possession of up to three-quarters of an ounce of marijuana a citation-level offense, similar to a traffic ticket.

But Wheeler said people who were once convicted for possession of the drug should have a chance to “move ahead with their lives” and have their record cleared of the offense. He noted that a criminal record can prevent people from getting jobs and loans, for example.

The opening day of the 2025 session of the N.H. Legislature will be on Jan. 8.

These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.