Yesterday the house Criminal Justice and Public Safety committee heard not just one, but two cannabis legalization bills, in addition to a decriminalization proposal. The hearing was populated with the usual bureaucrats and law enforcement busybodies, as well as a number of professionals, activists, and entrepreneurs speaking in favor. HB 492 presents a controlled, “tax and regulate” schema for cannabis distribution in New Hampshire. HB 337, if passed, would result in a much simpler legalization, only removing prohibitions from state law, making the substance just as legal and tomatoes, basil, and other plants and herbs. A decriminalization proposal, HB 621, would make possession of under an ounce punishable by no more than a $100 fine.
The Union Leader has published a summary. Video and written coverage has also been published regarding HB 492 at adventuresinthefreestate.com, which also links to other mainstream coverage of the historic hearing.
Embedded below is the first of many Free Concord videos in a playlist from the public testimony during HB 492 and HB 337.
In the spirit of the Franklin Youth Initiative, government school programs turned out schoolchildren in opposition to any leniency upon the cannabis consumer plague.
Thanks for the coverage. Just for the record, Bitcoin isn’t new to the liberty community – the Free State Project’s Porcfest 2012 was reported as the biggest Bitcoin event in the world, with vendors across the campground accepting Bitcoin as payment for a variety of goods.
Dozens of people from across NH came to the cannabis decrim/legalization hearings and spoke out in the criminal justice committee this afternoon at the state house in Concord. The Union Leader has a story about it here. (Al Capone was me, by the way.)
Here’s what Sarah from the NH Teapot Party had to say about the event:
So, in my opinion this was THE BEST hearing I have ever attended in regards to cannabis! I have sat through many hearings and watched the committee members falling asleep or rolling their eyes as the constituents talked, but sit upright and fully alert when law enforcement had their turn. It was always frustrating and infuriating. Today was almost the exact opposite!!!! What a GREAT afternoon!!! Not only were many of the committee members smiling and nodding at the testimony of those in favor, they were asking good questions. The opposition had their canned rehearsed testimony and were for the most part unable to answer questions.
Things just keep getting better as more liberty activists arrive as part of the Free State Project. If you love liberty, why aren’t you here yet? Here are 101 reasons to move to NH.
The New Hampshire Freedom blog reports on the Free State Project participants who were the supermajority of the voting differential on critical budget votes on Monday night in Keene. All the proposals to increase the suggested budget failed, and the last one to increase the budget failed by only six votes! There were at least five Free State Project participants in the room. The NH Freedom blog has the full story, “Have Keene Free Staters finally started to free Keene?”.
Unfortunately, our participation in politics, while better than ever, is still low. Keene has always attracted apolitical activists, and hopefully we are starting to see that change as even with small numbers we have already proved we can have an impact.
Manchester liberty activists Mike Ruff, Kirk McNeil and Antigone Darling are all quoted in this NHPR audio piece that aired today across New Hampshire on the radio.
As you may recall, last June the Keene Activist Center was raided by code enforcement and the fire department. They contend it was being operated as a “lodginghouse” or “tourist home” and cited claims posted online in early 2012 by former tenants to make their case to the judge to receive the search warrant. Despite having no evidence the current tenants at the time of the raid were doing the same things the previous tenants were, they issued a “NOTICE OF VIOLATION” in September. I challenged that notice by responding that the judge (Burke) is biased against Free State Project participants and should recused himself, invalidating his warrant.
Later in the year in December I received an “ORDINANCE VIOLATION” from the fire department. In it, they allege that I am in violation of the city’s smoke detector ordinance 2-2011-02. It appears the ridiculous ordinance in question requires all homes in Keene to have multiple smoke detectors, all hooked to AC power, and all interconnected (meaning if one goes off, they all go off).
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never lived in or heard of a home that has a system like that. I can see the benefit in having one smoke detector on each floor, and the KAC has that, but the rest of the ordinance is ludicrous and who knows what it would cost to have AC-powered interconnected detectors installed in a home. I suspect most homes in Keene do not have such a system. Does yours?
It’s pretty clear that I am being targeted because of my activism. Fred Parsells, one of the city’s code enforcers, has told me that he thinks I’m going to leave Keene. His continued campaign of harassment against me and my tenants is clearly designed to encourage me to leave through constant threats and court engagement.
I responded to their “ORDINANCE VIOLATION” and contested their violation to district court. I received a “SUMMONS” to come to court for an arraignment on a criminal town ordinance violation for the smoke detector issue. I showed up and a trial date was set for 5/29 at 10am. I then filed the following: (more…)
I didn’t even send out a press release for it, but a 
Dozens of people from across NH came to the cannabis decrim/legalization hearings and spoke out in the criminal justice committee this afternoon at the state house in Concord. The ![inthenews-nhpr[1]](https://i0.wp.com/freekeene.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/inthenews-nhpr1.jpg?resize=100%2C100)
![smokeDetector[1]](https://i0.wp.com/freekeene.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/smokeDetector11-150x150.jpg?resize=150%2C150)
As you may recall, last June the 
It’s pretty clear that I am being targeted because of my activism. 
