Riding on the coattails of Colorado and Washington legalization efforts, the state of New Hampshire is now looking to play ball with cannabis. Weeks ago, the NH House passed a cannabis legalization bill 170 to 162, marking the start of an enduring process for both sides of the debate. With the bill now moving out of the House and landing into the Ways and Means Committee, progress is being made with the legislation, for now.

If the bill were to achieve success in the committee, then policymakers would send it back to the House where it’s voted on again, and finally the Senate makes the last move before going to the Governor. Before getting high hopes, or at least the hopes of getting high, it should be noted that Governor Maggie Hassan (D) has remained promising that she would veto the bill. Spokesman Marc Goldberg told press a veto would be exercised.

Aside from the possibility of passing, the legalization bill is much like the one in Colorado, and with that, you should worry. Noted previously in my Colorado article, the legalization of cannabis is certainly going in the right direction, however the model being used to take cannabis in that direction is not a good one. Adopted by politicians, the call for cannabis freedom comes with a tradeoff, and that tradeoff is every bit hypocritical.

While basing cannabis legalization off the premise that consumer choice would obviously be more free and personal, lawmakers then decided to establish an arbitrary number for the amount allowed to be possessed as well as a tax on the sale of cannabis.
As explained previously, “By lessening the state’s grip on marijuana, which, oh by the way, is a heavily demanded good in Colorado, bureaucrats and handlers are able to dictate what business is created, who can sell the marijuana and how much it will cost. Increasing the cost of marijuana has already put a burden on smokers.” Many smokers in Colorado have complained of the tax, saying that because of it, they’ll go back to the black market where it’s much cheaper for the same quality.

Instead of arresting and fining the pot smokers, now states have the popular option of legalizing cannabis under the guise that smokers and consumers are being given more freedom to do as you’d like. Of course however, the exchange for cannabis is merely a tradeoff for other property – your money.