New Hampshire governor Maggie Hassan signed a bill Tuesday making New Hampshire the 19th state and the last remaining state in New England to legalize medical marijuana.
Qualified patients—such as patients with cancer or multiple sclerosis—are allowed to obtain up to two ounces of marijuana from state-sanctioned dispensaries, though they are not allowed to grow marijuana at home.
Govern Hassan remarks that the state will provide “strong regulatory oversight and clear dispensing guidelines” and assures that this legislation includes measures to prevent abuse.
New Hampshire is following the lead of other states—Colorado and Washington in last November—and won’t be the last. Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, Ohio and Minnesota are all considering similar legislation to legalize medical marijuana.
To us Californians, where medical marijuana was legalized in 1996 and patients are actually allowed to cultivate marijuana at home, this may not seem like a big step for New Hampshire or any other state. But it is a step, a small piece of the growing trend towards marijuana legalization.