New Hampshire: live free, but not yet high

LIVE FREE, NOT (YET) HIGH
NH Governor’s race pivotal to make New England 100% legal

Driving the news: C-SPAN nerds, including the entire Cultivated Media team, caught the New Hampshire’s Gubernatorial debate on October 22nd. One of the many things the two candidates disagree on, is if New Hampshire should have legal cannabis.

Back up a bit: There are six states in New England, and all but one have legal, adult-use cannabis. The outlier is New Hampshire. But not for lack of trying. Last year, a bill to legalize made its way out of the House to the Senate, but the machinations in the Senate made the bill impossible for pro-cannabis reform members of the House to support. So, it’s back to the drawing board in New Hampshire. 

BUT, before the next legislative battle truly begins, a race for Governor is afoot — pitting pro-reform, former Manchester Mayor, Democrat Joyce Craig against anti-reform Republican former Senator Kelly Ayotte. 

“One election away”: Kelly Ayotte’s campaign kicked off months ago by claiming that New Hampshire was “one election away” from being Massachusetts. (This is apparently deemed a bad thing in some Republican circles.) Of course, Massachusetts has legal cannabis. So, if elected, Ayotte would join the list of Republican Governors that oppose cannabis legalization, even if a majority of residents and voters support legalization. Most recently and most vocally, Governor Ron DeSantis is Florida is opposing Amendment 3 to legalize cannabis in Florida.

Craig on cannabis: During the debate on Tuesday, Mayor Craig said, “I am supportive of legalizing it. The vast majority of residents in our state are supportive of this. I think somewhere in the neighborhood of 70% of residents. So I think it is time to do that. I’m supportive of a small business model that supports our small businesses, our local farmers, and that provides local control as well.”

What’s next? As we wrote about in yesterday’s newsletter, there’s a lot on the ballot on November 5th that will impact the cannabis industry — and the race for New Hampshire’s governor is one more. Polling suggests that Ayotte has a slight lead to replace outgoing Governor Chris Sununu.

So add this to the list of races you follow on November 5th.

-JR

Governor Ron DeSantis is still on his quest to kill legal cannabis in Florida, this time suggesting that law enforcement won’t crack down on cannabis consumption where it’s not allowed:

“Law enforcement is not going to…They’re not going to spend time policing whether it’s being used in a restaurant or not if it’s a constitutional right. They’re just going to want to stay out of it because they’re not going to want to end up getting sued.”

More from Florida Politics on DeSantis’ take on cannabis. 

Not to be outdone on this issue, the governor’s wife, Casey DeSantis, is also on the No on 3 campaign trail, having appeared with the state Surgeon General and Sheriff of Polk County to campaign against the measure.

Adult-Beverage coalition launches 🧃

A new organization called the Coalition for Adult Beverage Alternatives (CABA) has launched and includes big names in the hemp-derived beverage space, among others. If you’re looking for more info, you can read the press release as their site is “launching soon”.

Milestones in MA 📈

The Cannabis Control Commission in Massachusetts released their 7th annual report this week and is taking a bow for record sales for the year and a total of $6 billion of cannabis sold in the Bay State since legalization. (We wonder if Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire is interested in how much of that $6 billion was spent by New Hampshire residents.)

A new study published in Pediatric Reports, using data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, shows a significant decline in cannabis use among high school students from 2011 to 2021, despite increasing legalization of cannabis in many states during this period. The percentage of adolescents trying cannabis before age 13 also decreased, contradicting concerns that legalization would increase youth consumption. The study also highlights trends like a rise in cannabis use among girls compared to boys in 2021, and ongoing racial disparities in usage rates. Read more.

The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management is hiring for an Ombudsperson to: “enhance and ensure integrity and fairness within the Minnesota cannabis industry by investigating complaints related to cannabis law, facilitating dispute resolutions, and providing informed recommendations on social equity matters.”

DaySavers has partnered up with Urban Outfitters to offer up cool pre-roll accessories for hip customers. The “Artisan Tube” 10-pack is $4 on Urban Outfitters’ ecomm site:

Update: Federal Government Tells You to Believe What It Says, Not What It Does, in Case That Could Invalidate Federal Marijuana Prohibition | Bradley, Budding Trends, A Cannabis Law Chronicle

Oregon cannabis growers call 2024 harvest “huge improvement” | MJBizDaily