HB196

Its criminal to keep a plant given by God to Humanity illegal.

Having spend time helping to craft various bills over the past six years I can attest to the frustration when it comes to criminal justice reform around cannabis. Disparate systems, hard to get to data, the mix of charges creating difficulty narrowing in on simple possession, the time of the courts are all factors that have made integrating full reform into a bill almost impossible. This would be a great first step to creating processes to automatically residents records as we await federal or state legalization of recreational cannabis.

Dear Chairman Roy, Vice Chair Rhodes, and distinguished members of the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee: My name is Dr. Riley Kirk, and I hold a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences. I specialize in patient advocacy and education, particularly in addressing barriers to care and opportunities created through thoughtful cannabis policy reform. I write to you today in strong support of HB 196 and urge you to adopt the amendment proposed by Rep. Wheeler and vote OTP on this critical bill. HB 196 represents an essential step toward addressing the systemic barriers created by low-level cannabis possession records. These records perpetuate lifelong disadvantages for individuals, limiting their ability to access stable housing, meaningful employment, occupational licenses, and other opportunities to contribute fully to society. Research and data consistently highlight the severe collateral consequences of criminal records, even for minor offenses. For example: A 2021 survey found that 83% of employers conduct criminal record checks when vetting job candidates. Fifty-five percent of individuals with criminal records report difficulties securing or maintaining employment or making a living. The National Inventory of Collateral Consequences of Conviction identifies 164 collateral consequences in New Hampshire law for those with misdemeanor records—barriers that impact careers ranging from EMS providers to veterinarians and court reporters. The current petition-based annulment process introduced by HB 399 in 2019 is costly, cumbersome, and underutilized. Many individuals are unaware of its existence, and those who are most impacted by these records are often least able to navigate the legal and financial challenges required to have them annulled. This creates a persistent inequity that HB 196 seeks to address by implementing a state-initiated process to annul misdemeanor and violation-level cannabis possession records. Such a mechanism would remove an economic and social burden that is inappropriate for behavior that Granite Staters widely believe should be legal. Historically, the New Hampshire House of Representatives has shown strong support for cannabis reform, as evidenced by the overwhelming 283-80 vote to pass HB 1539 last year. In addition, public sentiment remains firmly in favor of legalization, with 65% of residents supporting this reform. It is time to ensure that past low-level cannabis offenses do not result in lifetime punishments that disproportionately harm individuals, families, and communities. HB 196 aligns with national trends in addressing the collateral consequences of cannabis-related offenses. At least 12 states, including red and purple states like Oklahoma, Utah, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, have adopted similar “Clean Slate” laws. Many states have also implemented state-initiated cannabis expungement processes, recognizing that proactive measures are necessary to provide a second chance for individuals affected by outdated and overly punitive cannabis laws. As a patient advocate and educator, I see firsthand how outdated cannabis policies can exacerbate inequities in health, wellness, and opportunity. By removing these barriers, HB 196 would empower individuals to pursue stable employment, housing, and community involvement, ultimately benefiting the state as a whole. I urge you to report HB 196 OTP and take a meaningful step toward justice and equity in New Hampshire. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or require additional information. Sincerely, Dr. Riley Kirk, Ph.D.Pharmaceutical Sciences SpecialistAdvocate for Patient Education and Equity CEO/Co-Founder of the Network of Applied Pharmacognosy (NAP)

I support the decriminalizing of cannabis use

To The Chair and Committee Members, Over the years we have reduced certain penalties for possession. There continue to be persons incarcerated, due to old laws. We need to fix that. Give them the same considerations that we give those today under the new laws. That's the right thing to do! Rep. Harriott-Gathright Hills 10

I am not a fan of marijuana, but I strongly believe discontinuing prosecutions for MJ convictions makes sense. In addition annulling or resentencing those convicted of MJ offenses makes sense and is humane.

[Art.] 2. [Natural Rights.] All men have certain natural, essential, and inherent rights among which are, the enjoying and defending life and liberty; acquiring, possessing, and protecting, property; and, in a word, of seeking and obtaining happiness. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by this state on account of race, creed, color, sex or national origin. June 2, 1784, Amended 1974 adding sentence to prohibit discrimination. [Art.] 2-b. [Right of Privacy.] An individual's right to live free from governmental intrusion in private or personal information is natural, essential, and inherent. December 5, 2018 [Art.] 4. [Rights of Conscience Unalienable.] Among the natural rights, some are, in their very nature unalienable, because no equivalent can be given or received for them. Of this kind are the Rights of Conscience. [Art.] 5. [Religious Freedom Recognized.] Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and reason; and no subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained, in his person, liberty, or estate, for worshipping God in the manner and season most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; or for his religious profession, sentiments, or persuasion; provided he doth not disturb the public peace or disturb others in their religious worship. June 2, 1784 We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -Declaration of Independence My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth. – George Washington Give me liberty or give me death. -Patrick Henry An unjust law, is no law at all. -St. Aquinas, Martin Luther, & MLK Jr. Any law that which violates the inalienable rights of man is essentially unjust and tyrannical; it is not a law at all. -Maximilien Robespierre It’s the duty of everyone to defend and promote religious freedom. -Pope Francis One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. -MLK Jr. Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. – Abraham Lincoln If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so. -Thomas Jefferson An unjust law itself is a species of violence; arrest for its breach is more so. – Ghandi Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the state becomes lawless and corrupt. -Ghandi When a law is unjust, it is only right to disobey. -Ghandi Anyone in a free society where the laws are unjust has an obligation to break the law. -Henry David Thoreau Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once? Men generally, under such a government as this, think that they ought to wait until they have persuaded the majority to alter them. They think that, if they should resist, the remedy would be worse than the evil. But it is the fault of the government itself that the remedy is worse than the evil. It makes it worse. Why is it not more apt to anticipate and provide for reform? Why does it not cherish its wise minority? Why does it cry and resist before it is hurt? Why does it not encourage its citizens to be on the alert to point out its faults, and do better than it would have them? – Henry David Thoreau Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. James 1:22-25 — A dangerous movement, undetected by many, is now challenging and eroding our great tradition of religious freedom. There can be no doubt. This is no little matter. It must be confronted and defeated. — Jeff Sessions Laws protecting religious freedom and conscience rights are just empty words on paper if they aren’t enforced. No one should be forced to choose between helping sick people and living by one’s deepest moral or religious convictions, and the new division will help guarantee that victims of unlawful discrimination find justice. For too long, governments big and small have treated conscience claims with hostility instead of protection, but change is coming and it begins here and now. — Office of Civil Rights Director Roger Seravino President Trump promised the American people that his administration would vigorously uphold the rights of conscience and religious freedom. That promise is being kept today. Enforcing these statutes, some of which have been on the books for decades and some of which have lain largely dormant will expand and complement the already excellent work that Office of Civil Rights does protecting all Americans civil rights. Fundamentally, protecting the rights of Americans of faith, living up to our constitutional obligations is about building a nation of tolerance and that is a goal that matters deeply to all of us. When faithful Americans are bullied out of the public square and out of public service, when bigotry is allowed to flourish we all lose as individuals, as communities, and as a country. — Acting HHS Secretary Hargan It is enshrined in our own constitution in the first amendment that we have no established religion, but neither do we impede anyone’s religious practice. There is free exercise. The free exercise of religions seems to be misunderstood by some. It’s not the ability to have a religion and practice it in your place of worship. It’s the ability to be able to have a faith and live your faith wherever you are. If you have a faith and can only practice it in your certain place of worship you don’t have real religious freedom, you have allowance to be able to go to where you want to go when the government chooses for you to go there. That’s not who we are. We are a nation that says have your faith practice your faith wherever you are, in any location that you exist. I believe there is not a flood of new cases of religious intolerance. I think this is an opportunity for people to be able to say “this has existed for a while and I felt no one was listening. Now someone’s listening and I want to be able to express I have been biased against.” It’s a reasonable thing for a nation to be able to reach back to them and to say let’s find out, and where its wrong let’s fix an injustice. It’s the basic function of government to speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves and to settle the issue of injustice for all people. — Oklahoma Senator James Langford The federal government should never pursue to define the matters of the church, it should never pretend to dictate, define, contradict, or contravene religious belief. This is not the governments business, but rather it is the right and responsibility of the church and of the American people. Furthermore and just as important, the government should never presume to prohibit any citizens free expression of their faith. In other words, religion is not merely some secondary matter regulated to ones private life, but rather it is a public priority of personal values and corporate morals and something that all faithful people live out on a daily basis in the market square of life. This is not the government’s business said James Madison. The government should leave the church alone and never presume to tell people what to believe, or how to or how not to practice their faith. A Conscience and Religious Freedom Division should not be necessary, all of government should be that division, but at a time when our courts believe that they have the right to redefine a very Sacrament of the church we need this commission, we need this division, and I am grateful for it. —Dr. Everett Piper President of Oklahoma Wesleyan University Our understanding and defense of religious liberty comes from recognizing its important role as the core of our first amendment freedoms, as the critical buffer between the state and the individual. It is the expression of our founders acknowledgement and respect for human dignity and the essential and undeniable right to conscience free from government intrusion. — Montse Alverado Executive Director of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty

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