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House Votes To Negotiate With Senate To Reconcile Medical Marijuana Bills

House and Senate negotiators will work to reach agreement on a bill to make New Hampshire the 19th state to permit medical marijuana. A “home grow” option opposed by Governor Hassan is a major point of contention.

Governor Maggie Hassan and law enforcement both oppose allowing qualifying patients to grow their own marijuana. The senate stripped a “home grow” provision from the bill at her urging. The House had included it and some like Democratic Representative Joel Winters told colleagues that there yet might be a middle way.

“I understand law enforcement’s concern about people growing their own medicine but I think a reasonable compromise would be to allow it for now and in 2015 when dispensaries are open you have it sunset then. I think that would be a good compromise.”

Without home grow, medical marijuana advocates say that qualifying patients, many of whom are terminally ill, will have to wait about two years for state-licensed dispensaries to be up and running.

Before becoming a reporter for NHPR, Ryan devoted many months interning with The Exchange team, helping to produce their daily talk show. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire in Manchester with a major in Politics and Society and a minor in Communication Arts. While in school, he also interned for a DC-based think tank. His interests include science fiction and international relations. Ryan is a life-long Manchester resident.

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