New Hampshire just became the 22nd state in the U.S. to eliminate the possibility of spending time behind bars for possessing small amounts of marijuana.
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Earlier this year, lawmakers passed, and Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed, a bill to decriminalize cannabis in the Granite State.
The legislation went into effect on Saturday. That means cannabis is now decriminalized in all of New England.
Under the new law, people caught possessing up to three-quarters of an ounce of marijuana will receive a $100 fine for their first or second offenses. The punishment rises to a $300 fine for a third offense within a three-year period. If police find someone possessing small amounts of marijuana a fourth time in that window, they could be charged with a class B misdemeanor.
Until now, first-time cannabis possession was treated as a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year behind bars and a $2,000 fine.
“There is no good reason to continue arresting and prosecuting people for marijuana possession,” Matt Simon of the
Marijuana Policy Project, which lobbied lawmakers to pass the decriminalization bill, said in a press release.
While celebrating the decriminalization victory, advocates want the state to go even further by fully legalizing marijuana and regulating its sales.
