The Definitive Insider’s Guide to NH Cannabis Legalization Chapter 7
Current Developments and Industry Trajectory
Chapter Seven

So, no cannabis reform was enacted in New Hampshire in 2025.

Legalization, easing of some restrictions on current medical operators, protection of NH medical patients’ 2A rights, and some drug policy reforms will be on the legislative docket for 2026:

Sen. Donovan Fenton (D): relative to the legalization and regulation of cannabis and making appropriations therefor.

Rep. Jared Sullivan (D): legalizing certain quantities of cannabis.

Rep. Jonah Wheeler (D): a proposed constitutional amendment that would put on the November 2026 ballot for voters to determine that adults 21 years of age or older shall have the right to possess a modest amount of cannabis intended for their personal consumption.

Sen. Keith Murphy (R): making NH the first state in the nation to protect the right of NH therapeutic cannabis patients to purchase, possess, and transfer firearms from federal prosecution or interference.

Rep. Tom Mannion (R): making NH the first state in the nation to protect the right of NH therapeutic cannabis patients to purchase, possess, and transfer firearms from federal prosecution or interference.

Sen. Daniel Innis (R): allowing alternative treatment centers to operate for profit.

Sens. Bill Gannon (R) and Regina Birdsell (R), along with Reps. Michael Vose (R), James Creighton (R), Liz Barbour (R) and Lilli Walsh (R): relative to duties and reporting requirements of the therapeutic cannabis medical oversight board.

Sen. Donovan Fenton (D): relative to the definition of hemp.

Rep. Michael Moffett (R): allowing the use of psilocybin in approved clinical settings to treat qualified medical conditions.

Rep. Buzz Scherr (D): authorizing the medical use of psilocybin through a program established in the department of health and human services.

Rep. Michael Moffett (R): relative to the state’s participation in a multistate consortium to conduct clinical trials using ibogaine as an investigational new drug for the treatment of substance use disorder and any other neurological or mental health conditions for which ibogaine demonstrates efficacy.

Rep. Aidan Ankarberg (I): pre-filed a measure simply meant to strike the state’s Controlled Drug Act, which theoretically would legalize all currently illicit substances.

Sen. Lang (R) SB485 Defines hemp-based derivative products. Creates a licensing scheme for the sale of hemp-based derivative products within the Liquor Commission.  Enables the Liquor Commission to make rules relative to the regulation of hemp-based derivative products. Levies a tax on wholesale sale of hemp-based derivative products.

HB301 – Allows current medical cannabis licensees (Alternative Treatment Centers – ATCs) to operate a greenhouse in addition to their current indoor-only facilities reducing their operating costs and making them more competitive with adjacent states. (Retained in Senate Committee in 2025 and released in 2026 for re-consideration.)

HB51 – Enables ATCs to expand their product offerings to include non-intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids (e.g., CBD, CBG and CBN) in addition to that which they produce in-house, bringing their pricing more in line with legal sales at unlicensed smoke shops, convenience stores and gas stations. Retained in Senate Committee in 2025 and released in 2026 for re-consideration.)

“We know where it’s going to go. Let’s send a virtue signal,” the sponsor of the legalization proposal, Rep. Jared Sullivan (D) and US Senate hopeful, said during a House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee hearing last month. “Let them be the ones that are pissing off voters who care about this.”

Sullivan ultimately made a persuasive defense of moving forward with his original bill, pointing out that the House has repeatedly passed similar legalization legislation and that the chamber should stand its ground, forcing the Senate and governor to again go on record with their opposition to a policy popular among voters.

Of course, Rep Sullivan is keenly aware that commercial legalization beyond the current medical program has zero chance of passing the NH Senate this year. As a practical matter, permitting medical operators to convert to ‘for-profit’ operations has a good chance of succeeding this year, and protecting the 2A rights of NH medical patients has excellent prospects since traditional (Republican) opponents of cannabis reform in the Senate would risk political suicide failing to stand up for the 2A rights of NH residents. There was some talk last year about bundling this 2A initiative with legalization of personal possession, but doing so might diminish this important pioneering bill’s prospects so the proposal was ultimately abandoned.

Coming from ‘left field’ is the novel approach of Rep Wheeler’s bill for a constitutional amendment to be placed before the voters in November for a referendum on legalizing possession and consumption. It might be more difficult for legalization opponents to reject letting NH voters decide given the potential political blowback of not trusting voters to decide for themselves. A standalone legalization bill has slim chance of passage this year, but this novel approach may gain sufficient traction since opposition legislators wouldn’t have to be on record for or against.

What’s the likely NH cannabis industry trajectory for the next decade? First let’s take a look at the fundamentals.

The current governor is deadset opposed to legalizing either personal possession, home cultivation or recreational commerce. She will likely be re-elected to a two-year term this year. As an ex-prosecutor, her opposition derives primarily from her political alliance with institutional law enforcement constituents, including the NH Association of Police Chiefs. While their pretext for opposition is couched as ‘public safety’, their underlying concerns include that suspicion of cannabis possession or consumption often leads to unrelated arrests and so is a coveted enforcement tool, and asset forfeiture is helpful in padding department budgets and buying cool police equipment and toys. Overcoming this objection may require a couple years of ‘carrot & stick’ negotiations.

This Republican governor like her predecessor controls a core of Republican Senate toadies who will do their best to comply with requests to kill unwelcome legislation before it reaches their desk.

Of course, if a Democratic governor is elected this year, the prospects of common-sense legalization in 2027 brightens considerably.

Bear in mind that once enabling legalization legislation is passed, 12-18 months of rulemaking will ensue, followed by a roughly six-month license application process, then buildout, cultivation, manufacturing, et.al. So, even if legalization is approved in 2027, it would be at least 2-3 years before the first legal recreational sales begin. More likely, legalization will be approved in 2029 pushing implementation out another two years.

This affords the medical cannabis sector an unprecedented window of opportunity to build a robust wellness and lifestyle brand that can prosper alongside future recreational and pharmaceutical channels.

Liquor and higher alcohol content wine are retailed exclusively in New Hampshire by the state-owned monopoly, the NH Liquor Commission. Beer and lower alcohol content wine are sold by sold by many retailers such as supermarkets, convenience stores, smoke shops, gas stations, etc. Some of these also sell CBD and hemp products as permitted by often-changing state and federal laws. In 2024, a cannabis legalization measure that would have authorized the NH Liquor Commission as the exclusive recreational cannabis retailer and additionally killed the medical cannabis sector was rejected by the Legislature (in no small measure due to my own good offices). However there remains substantial political momentum to resurrect this initiative, especially once the constraints of federal prohibition are lifted perhaps in 2029-2030.

Features of such an approach include that the state would retain 100% of the net profit of the sector yielding substantially more revenue than the traditional cannabis excise tax. As a result, New Hampshire would enjoy competitive advantage over other states charging the tax and the state-run operation would be big enough to compete and scale with the industry’s largest multistate operators.

But this would only be legally feasible if the state also incorporated multiple private sector sales channels such as medical, pharmaceutical, low-dose THC convenience stores, farmstand sales, home cultivation and on-site consumption facilities.

So, here’s where the New Hampshire cannabis industry is heading:

The current fledging medical cannabis sector will be built into a wellness and lifestyle brand over the next few years taking advantage of the lack of legal competition for the next 5-8 years. Given the recent relaxation of qualifying medical conditions and broadening of authorized certifying medical providers, the current anemic medical patient count will grow from 17,000 to 75,000+ over the next couple years.

This will largely be accomplished by initiatives being implemented by my new company, NH Cannabis LLC (https://nhcannabis.org) which is not bound by the severe advertising restrictions imposed on licensed operators, so is free to educate, pre-qualify and refer any NH resident seeking legal access to cannabis to its network of medical providers for certification.

This year, I’m working with state reps and senators to introduce groundbreaking legislation to protect the 2A rights of NH medical cannabis patients from federal prosecution or interference which overcomes far and away the chief objection folks have to obtaining a medical card.

Additionally, NH Cannabis LLC is collaborating with regulators, legislators and dispensary owners to implement this year statewide third-party patient delivery which will dramatically increase interest in obtaining a medical card as well as dispensary reach and revenue.

These measures will enable the number of dispensaries to increase from their present 7 to 30-50 over the next few years with a proportionate increase in cultivation, manufacturing, related infrastructure and operational efficiency.

Once the patient count increases over the next couple years to more economically viable levels, on-site consumption sites can be established without requiring additional state licensing

In the event pending federal legislation revising the recent hemp THC prohibition fails to liberate the convenience store channel, in 2027 New Hampshire might be willing to enable a common-sense regulatory framework for low-THC retailing

Upon federal de-scheduling of cannabis, the state would be free to implement the NH Liquor Commission model, possibly offering medical licensees a recreational franchise. Or a common-sense private enterprise model may be implemented under a Democratic governor prior to federal de-scheduling. At this time, if not already enabled, personal possession and consumption, licensed on-site consumption venues (bars, clubs, music venues, et.al.), farmstand sales and home cultivation can be established.

Federal de-scheduling will also enable interstate commerce. By that point, our indigenous multi-channel cannabis industry should be well positioned to prosper and compete in the domestic and international markets.

Perhaps if our policymakers have an epiphany of leadership and common sense, we’ll also see incentives for industry and R&D to locate in New Hampshire for its business-friendly tax structure and quality of life providing the next generation with more good jobs and a brighter future for themselves and their communities.

As one can see, 2026 is poised to be a year of great progress towards this trajectory with an excellent chance of substantial growth of the therapeutic (medical) cannabis sector.

Medical licensees will be able to convert to ‘for-profit’ structure, buy CBD from third-party vendors and cultivate outdoors in greenhouse facilities, all of which dramatically lower their operating and production expenses.

Substantial growth in statewide patient count forms the foundation of higher revenue especially facilitated by the marketing efforts of NH Cannabis LLC, implementation of patient delivery, and patient relief from federal interference with their 2A rights.

With a real 50/50 chance that the constitutional amendment ballot initiative will be approved we may also enjoy some long overdue common-sense legalization of personal possession and consumption

Stay tuned!