New Hampshire HB 1235: legalizing certain quantities of cannabis.

Bill Text

HB 1235-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2026 SESSION

 26-3012

 09/08

HOUSE BILL 1235-FN

AN ACT legalizing certain quantities of cannabis.

SPONSORS: Rep. J. Sullivan, Graf. 2; Rep. H. Howard, Straf. 4; Rep. Tom Mannion, Hills. 1; Rep. C. McGuire, Merr. 27; Rep. D. McGuire, Merr. 14; Rep. Wade, Straf. 15

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

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ANALYSIS

 This bill authorizes the possession and use of cannabis by a person 21 years of age or older, subject to certain quantity restrictions and other limitations.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

 Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

 Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

 26-3012

 09/08

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six

AN ACT legalizing certain quantities of cannabis.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 1 Purpose and Findings. In the interest of allowing law enforcement to focus on violent and property crimes, and advancing individual freedom, the people of the state of New Hampshire find and declare that the possession and use of cannabis by a person 21 years of age or older should be legal.

 2 Personal Possession and Growing of Cannabis; Public Consumption. RSA 318-B:2-c is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

 318-B:2-c Personal Possession of Marijuana.

 I. In this section:

 (a) "Cannabis" includes the leaves, stems, and flowers of all species of the plant genus cannabis, but shall not include the resin extracted from any part of such plant and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation from such resin including hashish, and further, shall not include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks, fiber, oil or cake, or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination. "Cannabis" shall not include hemp grown, processed, marketed, or sold under RSA 439-A. Unless the context requires otherwise, "cannabis" includes cannabis products, cannabis trim, and cannabis concentrate.

 (b) “Cannabis concentrate” means the resin extracted from a cannabis plant and every preparation that is composed primarily of such resin, including, but not limited to, hashish and cannabis oils for vaporization. "Cannabis concentrate" shall not include cannabis products made from cannabis concentrate where the majority of the content by weight is something other than cannabis such as, but not limited to, edible products, topical products, and tinctures.

 (c) "Cannabis product" means any product that contains cannabis, including cannabis extracts, concentrated cannabis products, and products that contain cannabis and other ingredients and are intended for use or consumption, such as, but not limited to, edible products, ointments, and tinctures. This term shall not include cannabis in its plant or flower form.

 (d) "Cannabis trim" means leaves, stems, trichomes, and other plant materials that are no longer attached to a cannabis plant. It does not include cannabinoids or resins extracted from cannabis. 

 (e)(1) "Possession limit" means:

 (A) Two-and-a-half ounces of cannabis flower or cannabis trim or any combination thereof; 

 (B) Ten grams of cannabis concentrate; and

 (C) Cannabis products other than cannabis concentrates containing no more than 2,000 milligrams of THC.

 (2) Subparagraph (e) shall not apply to the possession limits set forth in RSA 126-X:2.

 II. Except as provided in paragraph III, if undertaken by a person 21 years of age or older, the following acts shall not be illegal under New Hampshire law, shall not be a criminal or civil offense under New Hampshire law or the law of any political subdivision of New Hampshire, and shall not be a basis for seizure or forfeiture of assets under New Hampshire law:

 (a) Possessing, consuming, processing, or transporting an amount of cannabis that does not exceed the possession limit; or

 (b) Transferring an amount of cannabis that does not exceed the possession limit to a person who is 21 years of age or older without remuneration. For purposes of this subparagraph, a transfer is for remuneration if cannabis is given away contemporaneously with another transaction between the same parties, if a gift of cannabis is offered or advertised in conjunction with an offer for sale of goods or services, or if the gift of cannabis is contingent upon a separate transaction for goods or services; or

 (c) Possessing or purchasing cannabis paraphernalia.

 III. Except as provided