Angry lawmakers denounce marijuana decrim vote: N.H. Senate wants your children to die
In a 14-10 vote, the state Senate once again rejected legislation that would have reduced the penalty for possessing small amounts of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a violation. House Bill 1631 died after having been approved by the lower chamber with majority support from both parties.
State Rep. Amanda Bouldin, the Free State Democrat from Manchester, reacted to the Senate vote by posting a series of scathing messages on social media.
“Today, the NH Senate voted down cannabis decriminalization because they don’t want the ‘darkies’ to think they’re ‘as good as white men,’ ” she wrote, echoing a remark attributed to the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, who was one of the driving forces behind pot prohibition in the 1930s.
“Today, the NH Senate voted down cannabis decriminalization because they want your children to be arrested for pot and later die of a fentanyl overdose while in prison,” she continued.
“Today, the NH Senate voted down cannabis decriminalization to protect the state’s profits on liquor sales and encourage drunk driving, wife-beating, and bar fights.”
“Today,” she concluded, “the NH Senate voted down cannabis decriminalization because they believe that substance misuse can be cured with trauma, solitary confinement, and RAPE.”
Rep. Joe Lachance (R-Manchester) had a more personal message for opponents of decriminalization. “I smoke pot and I like it a lot!” he told a 420 protest gathering at the State House.
Lachance, one of the state’s 62 medical marijuana cardholders according to Al Jazeera, says cannabis has eased his chronic pain and PTSD and helped him kick an opiate addiction.