Bill to Tax and Regulate Marijuana Sales Could Raise Millions in New Revenue
CONCORD, NH -- An active duty New Hampshire corrections superintendent will testify before a state House of Representatives committee today in favor of a bill that would allow the NH Department of Revenue Administration to license and tax the sale of marijuana to adults over 21. The bill, HB 1705, will be heard by the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee at 11:00 AM EST in Legislative Office Building Room 204.
Richard Van Wickler, the corrections superintendent for Cheshire County, NH, will appear in support of the bill. "As an active duty jail superintendent, I've seen how marijuana prohibition doesn't do anything to reduce marijuana use but does cause a host of other problems, from taking up space in already crowded jails to funding a violent black market controlled by gangs and cartels."
Van Wickler is a speaker for the organization Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), an international group of police officers, judges, corrections officials, border agents and other criminal justice professionals who have witnessed the failures of the so-called "war on drugs" firsthand.
At the hearing, Van Wickler, who was named "Corrections Superintendent of the Year" for 2011 by the New Hampshire Association of Counties, will also hand-deliver written testimony on behalf of fellow LEAP speaker and active Plainfield, Connecticut chief of police Robert Hoffman. "Of course LEAP, like other law enforcement organizations, does not endorse or condone marijuana use," Hoffman says in his testimony. "But that is not the issue here, because to regulate the manufacture and sale of marijuana is not an endorsement or condonation of its use. On the contrary, regulating the market for marijuana will take it out of the control of violent gangs and cartels."
New Hampshire spends over $17.2 million enforcing its marijuana prohibition laws every year, according to Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron. He says the state could take in an additional $12.6 million in new revenue through legal and taxed sales of marijuana.
The full text of the bill being heard today and other information can be found at http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2012/HB1705.html
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) represents police, prosecutors, judges, prison wardens, federal agents and others who want to legalize and regulate drugs after fighting on the front lines of the "war on drugs" and learning firsthand that prohibition only serves to worsen addiction and violence. More info at http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 25, 2012
CONTACT: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc
Excellent. It’s a bit too long for me to read at the moment, but …
ReplyDeleteSo when this passes (or something like it) does that mean Mass. will threaten to put up billboards on their side of the boarder with some snarky sayings. ;-)
Wow... there's no stopping for LEAP - turns out my donations are going to the correct people. Thank-you.
ReplyDeleteOnly trouble is... the governor! Gov. Lynch will never approve the bill, nor will the State Senate. They both feverishly opposed a bill that passed the House to decriminalize cannabis for adults a couple years ago.
Gov. Lynch made the statement that as long as the federal gov't is involved, NH won't stand up. Essentially Governor Lynch is a coward, as is the Senate. No backbone, can't wait until he leaves, and vote out the Senate.
Not like it was back in the 1770's... the Boston Tea Party was the result of excessive taxation and the control exerted by the King of England. If this were today, Gov. Lynch would be bowing to the King, kissing his feet.
Criminal sanctions, fines, are all the same as taxation; in fact, this whole mess with what's called marijuana started with a tax! 30 some years later the Supreme Court finds the tax to be Unconstitutional. So cannabis is legal; not. Nixon quickly sees to it that the 1971 drug control act is passed. This in spite of his own gold ribbon committee that recommends legalization of cannabis. Straight up legalization!
So why the refusal of government to recognize a slam-dunk decision? Why since 1971 has there been no change in the status of cannabis, despite efforts by President Carter to also legalize it?
I believe, LEAP is correct in questioning authority under the circumstances. Prohibition of marijuana, especially, is ludicrous. Calling it a "recreational drug" is equally ludicrous. People who use it are not known to throw wild parties... no one vomits... no one wakes up feeling like s**t the next morning, unless they also drank alcohol the night before.
I endorse the bill, HB 1705, as a registered NH voter.
Stop the Hurt!!!
Governor Lynch... surprise me... your last term in office... understand this is not about anarchy, or intent to hurt children. This is about the rights of adult human beings to use what God has given us in the form of natural plants and natural medicine. We're not asking you to legalize drugs... we're asking you to legalize what nature provides... and to stand up to the "King".
Personal use of cannabis is a right of the state... it is not governed/to be regulated under interstate federal laws. It's not like cannabis is a dog-fight or cock-fight. No one has died using cannabis... gotten freaked out by the cops busting down their doors - yes! And for what purpose?
Taxation of the worst kind!
Video is at biker bills blog adventures in the free state.
ReplyDeletehttp://bikerbillnh.blogspot.com/2012/01/nh-again-reconsiders-making-money-off.html
Nice job LEAP member Rick Van Wickler...thanks!