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Drug Policy Watch · State Brief 2026

New Hampshire

Snapshot (structured)

Adult-use cannabis
Not legal. New Hampshire is the only New England state without adult-use legalization. Possession of up to three-quarters of an ounce is decriminalized (civil violation). The House passed legalization bill HB 186 in January 2026, but the Senate tabled it, and Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) opposes legalization.
Medical cannabis
Legal since 2013 (HB 573). Registry of roughly 16,800 patients and caregivers as of spring 2026, served by 7 dispensaries (Alternative Treatment Centers).
Home grow
Not allowed, for medical patients or anyone else. Multiple bills to allow patient home cultivation have died.
Intoxicating hemp / hemp THC
Restrictive. Intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids (delta-8, etc.) are effectively barred from open retail; the state's AG has pushed for a federal ban. Exposed to the federal November 12, 2026 intoxicating-hemp deadline.
Psychedelics
Illegal. A 2025 bill to reduce psilocybin penalties (HB 528) passed the House but was tabled/killed in the Senate.
Broad decriminalization
Only cannabis (small amounts) is decriminalized. Other drugs remain criminalized.
Harm reduction
Syringe services authorized; naloxone widely available; fentanyl and xylazine test strips legalized (2023, HB 287).
Governor (party)
Kelly Ayotte (Republican).
Legislature control
Republican trifecta. House roughly 222-178 R; Senate 16-8 R (reported veto-proof).
Citizen ballot initiatives allowed
No. New Hampshire has no statewide citizen-initiative process. The legislature can refer constitutional amendments to voters without the governor.
Enclosure pressure score
3/5

Cannabis

Adult-use status: Not legal as of 2026. New Hampshire remains the lone New England state, and one of the last in the Northeast, without adult-use legalization (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/). Small-amount possession has been decriminalized since 2017, when then-Gov. Chris Sununu signed HB 640, reducing possession of three-quarters of an ounce or less from a misdemeanor to a civil violation punishable by fine (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/).

Medical status: Legal since 2013 via HB 573, signed by then-Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/). The Therapeutic Cannabis Program is run by the Department of Health and Human Services (https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/programs-services/population-health/therapeutic-cannabis). The program added more than 2,100 patients in the prior year, bringing the registry to nearly 17,000 (about 16,846 patients and caregivers, roughly 1.2 percent of the population), the largest annual growth since 2021 (https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2026-05-06/medical-marijuana-nh-increase-new-patients-last-year). Growth was driven by 2024 expansions: HB 1278 let any debilitating condition qualify, and SB 357 allowed any provider licensed to prescribe to certify patients (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/). Generalized anxiety disorder was added as a qualifying condition; more than 900 patients list anxiety (https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2026-05-06/medical-marijuana-nh-increase-new-patients-last-year).

Home grow: Not permitted. Patient home cultivation bills (for example HB 53 in 2025) passed the House but were tabled in the Senate (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/).

Market structure: The medical market is served by 7 dispensaries operated by 3 producers, GraniteLeaf Cannabis, Sanctuary Medicinals, and Temescal Wellness, all currently nonprofit Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs) responsible for cultivation, production, and dispensing (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-hampshire-lawmakers-approve-bill-to-let-medical-marijuana-dispensaries-convert-to-for-profit-businesses/). There is no adult-use market, so there are no adult-use license caps, MSO build-out, or excise taxes to report. New Hampshire has no general sales tax. The proposed HB 186 adult-use framework would have allowed private businesses to apply for cultivation and retail licenses, a departure from the Senate's earlier state-run "franchise model" (https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/us-states/new-hampshire/news/15818984/new-hampshire-senate-refuses-to-debate-cannabis-legalization-again).

Key 2026 actions: HB 186 (adult-use legalization and regulation) passed the House 208-135 in January 2026 but was tabled by the Senate on a 15-9 vote (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-hampshire-senate-kills-house-passed-marijuana-legalization-bill/). HB 54 (for-profit ATC conversion) passed the House on the consent calendar (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-hampshire-house-passes-bills-to-legalize-marijuana-and-let-dispensaries-convert-to-for-profit-status/). SB 468 (on-site greenhouse cultivation for ATCs) passed both chambers but was vetoed by Gov. Ayotte in June 2026 (https://newhampshirebulletin.com/briefs/ayotte-vetoes-bill-to-expand-cultivation-of-medicinal-marijuana/). CACR 19, a proposed constitutional amendment to refer legalization to voters, died when the House declined to call a vote (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/).

Hemp

New Hampshire applies a restrictive posture toward intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids. Delta-8 and similar products are effectively barred from open retail; any product with intoxicating levels of THC must move through the medical cannabis system rather than general retail, per industry summaries (https://burningdaily.com/blogs/learn/new-hampshire-cannabis-hemp-laws). Reporting indicates the state has been moving toward dispensary-only channels for intoxicating hemp-THC and a strict total-THC standard (https://www.cannabisregulations.ai/cannabis-and-hemp-regulations-compliance-ai-blog/new-hampshire-2025-hemp-total-thc-bills-and-adult-use). The precise current statutory text and rule status are partly unconfirmed; see the live tracker for exact provisions.

Exposure to federal hemp changes: The FY2026 federal Agriculture appropriations law signed in November 2025 redefines hemp around "total THC" and THC-like effects, with an intoxicating-hemp product ban taking effect November 12, 2026; this excludes delta-8, delta-10, THCA flower, and similar products from the legal hemp definition (https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/hemp/news/15823852/s-house-passes-2026-farm-bill-intoxicating-hemp-product-ban-remains). New Hampshire's posture aligns with the federal direction. State Attorney General John Formella joined 38 other state AGs in asking Congress to close the 2018 Farm Bill loophole allowing marijuana-like hemp products to be sold unregulated (https://newhampshirebulletin.com/briefs/new-hampshires-formella-and-38-other-state-ags-ask-congress-to-ban-hemp-thc-products/).

Psychedelics

No therapeutic-access or decriminalization framework exists; psilocybin remains a felony-level controlled substance. In the 2025 session, HB 528, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Verville (R), passed the House (advanced 16-0 out of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, then passed on the consent agenda) to reduce psilocybin penalties: a first offense would be a violation with a fine of $100 or less, second and third offenses class B misdemeanors with no jail time, and fourth-plus offenses remaining felonies (https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2025/03/26/new-hampshire-house-votes-to-reduce-punishments-for-shrooms/). The Senate tabled/scuttled the measure (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-hampshire-bill-to-ease-psilocybin-penalties-advances-through-house-but-is-tabled-in-senate). No enacted psychedelics reform as of 2026. Reporting references additional bipartisan psilocybin-for-medical-use proposals; specific 2026 bill numbers are unconfirmed (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-hampshire-lawmakers-take-up-bipartisan-bills-to-legalize-psilocybin-for-medical-use).

Broader drug policy

Decriminalization: Limited to small-amount cannabis (HB 640, 2017). Other controlled substances remain criminalized.

Harm reduction: Syringe service programs are authorized in state law. Fentanyl and xylazine test strips were removed from the drug-paraphernalia definition in 2023 when then-Gov. Sununu signed HB 287, allowing the general public to possess them (https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/nh-decriminalizes-fentanyl-and-xylazine-test-strips). In 2025, HB 226 was introduced to broaden the statutory definition of "drug checking equipment" beyond fentanyl and xylazine strips (https://www.rstreet.org/outreach/r-street-testimony-in-support-of-nh-hb-226-relative-to-the-use-of-drug-checking-equipment/); its final enacted status is unconfirmed (https://legiscan.com/NH/text/HB226/id/3041613/New_Hampshire-2025-HB226-Introduced.html). Naloxone access has been expanded by the legislature (https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/nh-decriminalizes-fentanyl-and-xylazine-test-strips).

Sentencing and expungement: For cannabis, HB 399 (2019) lets people with pre-decriminalization misdemeanor possession convictions have records annulled (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/). A broader automatic-annulment bill, HB 196 (2025, Rep. Jonah Wheeler), passed the House by voice vote but was killed in the Senate Judiciary Committee (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/).

Driving / open container: In 2024, SB 426 created a $150 fine for transporting non-medical cannabis outside a trunk or least-accessible compartment, with possible license suspension and stricter rules for those under 21 (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/).

Overdose and treatment policy: New Hampshire continues to fund overdose-reversal and treatment efforts; specific 2026 appropriations are not detailed here and should be verified against state sources.

Political landscape

Governor: Kelly Ayotte (R), in office since January 2025. She is an explicit opponent of legalization and has said her position would not change even if the federal government reschedules cannabis, and she has threatened to veto any legalization bill (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-hampshire-senate-kills-house-passed-marijuana-legalization-bill/). She vetoed SB 468 in June 2026, saying she does not support expanding cultivation (https://newhampshirebulletin.com/briefs/ayotte-vetoes-bill-to-expand-cultivation-of-medicinal-marijuana/).

Party control: Republican trifecta. House approximately 222-178 Republican; Senate 16-8 Republican, reported as a veto-proof majority (https://ballotpedia.org/2026_New_Hampshire_legislative_session). The dynamic is notable: the Republican-controlled House has repeatedly passed cannabis and psilocybin reforms with bipartisan support, while the Republican-controlled Senate repeatedly tables them.

Key committees: House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee (handled HB 528 psilocybin); Senate Judiciary Committee (killed HB 196 annulment). The Senate is the consistent chokepoint for reform.

Reform champions (named): Rep. Jonah Wheeler (D-Peterborough), prime mover on CACR 19 and HB 196; Rep. Wendy Thomas (D-Merrimack), HB 54 for-profit conversion; Sen. Howard Pearl (R-Loudon), SB 468 greenhouse cultivation; Rep. Kevin Verville (R), HB 528 psilocybin (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/).

Named opponents: Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R), leading opponent of legalization and cultivation expansion (https://newhampshirebulletin.com/briefs/ayotte-vetoes-bill-to-expand-cultivation-of-medicinal-marijuana/). Sen. Darryl Abbas (R) moved to table the 2025 medical-expansion and home-grow bills (HB 190 and HB 53) (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/). Attorney General John Formella has pushed at the federal level for a hemp-THC ban (https://newhampshirebulletin.com/briefs/new-hampshires-formella-and-38-other-state-ags-ask-congress-to-ban-hemp-thc-products/). Law enforcement groups have opposed legalization (https://news.yahoo.com/diverse-coalition-backs-legalizing-pot-045900296.html).

Ballot initiatives

New Hampshire has no statewide citizen-initiative process; voters cannot place statutes on the ballot, unlike Massachusetts and Maine, which legalized via citizen initiative (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/). The legislature can, however, refer constitutional amendments to the ballot: both chambers must approve by more than 60 percent, the governor has no role, and the measure then needs more than two-thirds voter support. CACR 19 attempted this route in 2026 but died in the House without a floor vote (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/). No cannabis or drug-policy measure is on the 2026 statewide ballot via this mechanism. All legislative seats, the governorship, and a U.S. Senate seat are on the November 2026 ballot (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/).

Equity and expungement

There is no adult-use market, so there are no social-equity licensing provisions. For records relief, HB 399 (2019) created a petition-based annulment for people convicted of pre-decriminalization misdemeanor cannabis possession (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/). The MPP-backed HB 196 (2025) would have created a state-initiated, "automatic" annulment process for cannabis possession convictions, but it was killed in the Senate Judiciary Committee, leaving relief petition-based and incomplete (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/). People with prior convictions who do not affirmatively petition are effectively excluded from relief.

Market and barriers

Enclosure read

New Hampshire is a prohibition holdout, which makes its enclosure pattern distinctive: there is no consolidated adult-use industry to capture, so the "fence" is the prohibition itself plus a tightly limited medical market. Who is fenced out: ordinary adult consumers (no legal adult-use access, cross-border purchases criminalized via the open-container rule); patients (no home grow, supply constraints, prices inflated by the nonprofit-mandate cost structure); and would-be small operators and home growers (no licensing pathway at all). Who consolidates: the 3 incumbent ATC producers hold the entire legal supply chain, with no new entrants and pending bills that would expand their cultivation (greenhouses) and let them convert to for-profit, which could entrench incumbents further if and when reform finally arrives. The Republican Senate and a prohibitionist governor are the active gatekeepers, repeatedly killing House-passed reforms.

Justification for score of 3/5: The medical market is narrow and incumbent-dominated, and consumers and small actors are clearly fenced out, which pushes pressure up. But there is little active corporate consolidation of a large market (because no large legal market exists), no aggressive intoxicating-hemp capture-by-incumbents dynamic yet, and decriminalization plus reasonably strong harm-reduction law (test strips, syringe services, naloxone) keep it from the higher end. The fence here is mostly the state holding the gate shut, not big players locking in a market, so a mid-scale 3 fits better than a 4.

What to watch next

Regulators

Federal exposure (2026)

Rescheduling and 280E: Cannabis remains Schedule I by default federally. In April 2026 a DOJ/DEA order moved only FDA-approved cannabis drugs and state-licensed medical cannabis to Schedule III, leaving recreational cannabis on Schedule I; a broader DEA hearing opened June 29, 2026 and may slip to 2027 (https://www.dea.gov/). New Hampshire is uniquely positioned to benefit from the medical-only piece of this order: it is the only New England state without adult-use, and its entire legal cannabis supply chain is the medical Therapeutic Cannabis Program run through 7 nonprofit Alternative Treatment Centers. Because the April 2026 order ended Section 280E for the state-licensed medical category, New Hampshire's 3 ATC producers (GraniteLeaf, Sanctuary Medicinals, Temescal Wellness) could, in principle, deduct ordinary business expenses for the first time, easing a cost structure that is currently passed to patients (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-hampshire-lawmakers-approve-bill-to-let-medical-marijuana-dispensaries-convert-to-for-profit-businesses/). The relief is narrow and qualified: Schedule III does not legalize cannabis, does not authorize interstate commerce, and does not cover any future adult-use business, so a legalized New Hampshire market (if HB 186 or a successor ever passed) would remain in Schedule I, 280E-exposed territory. The 280E benefit also interacts awkwardly with New Hampshire's nonprofit ATC mandate and the stalled HB 54 for-profit conversion effort; the practical value of a federal tax deduction is greater for for-profit entities, which New Hampshire law does not yet permit (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-hampshire-lawmakers-approve-bill-to-let-medical-marijuana-dispensaries-convert-to-for-profit-businesses/).

Hemp cliff (November 12, 2026): The FY2026 federal Agriculture appropriations law (Sec. 781, sponsor Rep. Andy Harris R-MD) narrowed the legal hemp definition to a total-THC standard of roughly 0.4 mg THC per container, recriminalizing an estimated 90 to 95 percent of intoxicating hemp products effective November 12, 2026 (https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/hemp/news/15823852/s-house-passes-2026-farm-bill-intoxicating-hemp-product-ban-remains). A proposed delay (H.R.7010, unconfirmed) was not enacted, and the 2026 Farm Bill (H.R.7567) keeps the ban (https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/hemp/news/15823852/s-house-passes-2026-farm-bill-intoxicating-hemp-product-ban-remains). Practical effect on New Hampshire: comparatively muted, because the state already takes a restrictive posture toward intoxicating hemp cannabinoids (delta-8, delta-10, THCA flower), effectively barring them from open retail and steering intoxicating THC into the medical channel (https://burningdaily.com/blogs/learn/new-hampshire-cannabis-hemp-laws). The federal cliff largely confirms the direction New Hampshire's Attorney General John Formella already pushed, having joined 38 other state AGs asking Congress to close the 2018 Farm Bill loophole (https://newhampshirebulletin.com/briefs/new-hampshires-formella-and-38-other-state-ags-ask-congress-to-ban-hemp-thc-products/). The exposure is therefore less about a market suddenly going dark and more about federal law hardening a ban New Hampshire was already enforcing, removing any residual gray-market hemp-THC retail and any state-level debate over a permissive alternative.

Banking: SAFER Banking has stalled in Congress (https://www.congress.gov/). The continuing lack of federal banking access weighs on New Hampshire's nonprofit ATCs the same way it does on any cannabis operator, raising costs and limiting normal financial services; this compounds the nonprofit-mandate cost structure already passed to patients (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-hampshire-lawmakers-approve-bill-to-let-medical-marijuana-dispensaries-convert-to-for-profit-businesses/).

Psychedelics: Psilocybin, MDMA, and ibogaine remain Schedule I federally. An April 18, 2026 executive order, Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness [https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/04/accelerating-medical-treatments-for-serious-mental-illness/] plus FDA priority vouchers fast-track FDA review, but no psychedelic therapy is federally approved yet (https://www.fda.gov/). New Hampshire has no state psychedelics framework: the 2025 psilocybin penalty-reduction bill, HB 528 (Rep. Kevin Verville R), passed the House but was tabled in the Senate, and there is no therapeutic-access law (https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2025/03/26/new-hampshire-house-votes-to-reduce-punishments-for-shrooms/). New Hampshire's near-term psychedelics exposure thus runs almost entirely through the federal FDA pathway rather than any state program; if FDA approves a psilocybin or MDMA therapy, that medicalize-and-control route, favoring large incumbents and FDA-cleared products, would be the channel through which access reaches New Hampshire, given the state's own reform repeatedly dies in the Senate.

Harm reduction: New Hampshire is comparatively strong here. Syringe service programs are authorized in state law, naloxone access has been expanded, and fentanyl and xylazine test strips were legalized in 2023 via HB 287 (https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/nh-decriminalizes-fentanyl-and-xylazine-test-strips). This makes the state more exposed to the April 24, 2026 SAMHSA guidance barring federal funds for fentanyl test strips, clean syringes, and sterile water, while naloxone remains federally supported (https://www.samhsa.gov/). Because New Hampshire actually operates the services the SAMHSA cut targets, the loss of federal dollars for test strips, syringes, and sterile water lands on programs that exist on the ground here, unlike in states that never built them; the state would have to backfill with its own funds or scale back, and the gap between a comparatively strong state legal framework and shrinking federal support is the sharpest federal harm-reduction exposure New Hampshire faces.

Patient access and rights

This section covers what New Hampshire law does and does not protect for a medical cannabis patient: use inside a hospital, and the broader rights that follow a patient into work, housing, parenting, an organ transplant list, and school. It is information, not legal advice, and it reflects the law as of July 2026. Each point links to the primary statute.

Hospital access (Ryan's Law): New Hampshire has no hospital-access law. No statute requires a hospital, nursing home, or hospice to let a qualifying patient use medical cannabis on site, so whether a facility allows it is left to that facility's own policy, and many refuse. Seven states have now enacted a Ryan's Law protection (California in 2021, and Colorado, Delaware, Louisiana, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington in 2026), and Pennsylvania has a bill pending; New Hampshire is not among them. The absence is the finding: a New Hampshire patient has no enforceable right to use their medicine in a hospital today.

Broader protections: New Hampshire protects a qualifying patient in three of the six areas, under RSA 126-X:2. It protects custody, visitation, and parenting time absent conduct that endangers the child (paragraph VI), and provides that for the purposes of medical care, including organ transplants, a patient's authorized use of cannabis is treated the same as any other authorized medication (paragraph VII). Because paragraph VII names organ transplants directly, a New Hampshire patient cannot be denied a transplant listing solely for lawful medical cannabis use. Three areas are not covered: employment, where RSA 126-X:3 preserves an employer's right to discipline, and housing and school enrollment, where a review found no protection. Those gaps are the finding.

Out-of-state patients: New Hampshire offers full access to visiting patients; under a 2024 change (HB 1278), an approved out-of-state patient may purchase at a New Hampshire dispensary.

The federal picture: the April 2026 federal move of state-licensed medical cannabis to Schedule III did not change any of this. Schedule III does not make dispensary cannabis a lawful prescription medicine and does not create any hospital-use right; only state law can force hospital access, and New Hampshire has not enacted a Ryan's Law. The broader protections above are a creature of New Hampshire law, not federal law.

Sources: New Hampshire patient protections, RSA 126-X:2; employer rights, RSA 126-X:3.

Related reading from Drug Policy Watch: the Federal Drug Policy Brief, the Schedule III rescheduling explainer, and the 50-State Matrix.

Analysis: the enclosure read in depth

Who is fenced out in New Hampshire: the fence here is built by the state, not by a consolidated industry. A prohibitionist Senate and a prohibitionist governor (Kelly Ayotte, R) are the active gatekeepers, repeatedly killing House-passed reforms (HB 186 adult-use, HB 196 annulment, HB 53 home grow, HB 528 psilocybin) (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-hampshire-senate-kills-house-passed-marijuana-legalization-bill/). Ordinary adults have no legal adult-use access and are exposed to the open-container transport rule that criminalizes cross-border purchases from neighboring legal states. Patients face no home-grow option, supply constraints, and prices inflated by the nonprofit ATC mandate. Would-be small operators and home growers have no licensing pathway at all: legal supply is held entirely by 3 incumbent producers running 7 nonprofit dispensaries, with no new entrants. Crucially, New Hampshire has no citizen ballot initiative, so the public cannot route around the Senate the way Massachusetts and Maine voters did; the only ballot path is a legislatively referred constitutional amendment (CACR 19, Rep. Jonah Wheeler D-Peterborough), which itself died in the House without a floor vote (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/).

State-plus-federal interaction: the federal 2026 moves mostly reinforce New Hampshire's existing posture rather than disrupt it. Schedule III for medical cannabis hands a 280E tax benefit to the 3 incumbent ATCs, which, combined with the pending for-profit conversion push (HB 54), could entrench those incumbents further if and when adult-use reform finally arrives, the classic medicalize-and-control, favor-the-incumbent pattern. The November 12, 2026 hemp cliff hardens a ban Attorney General Formella already sought, fencing out small hemp retailers nationally and confirming New Hampshire's restrictive channel. The SAMHSA harm-reduction cuts pull federal money out from under services New Hampshire actually runs, pressuring a comparatively strong state framework from the federal side. In each case the federal lever pushes the same direction as the state Senate: toward fewer legal actors and tighter control.

What to watch: veto-override math on SB 468 (Sen. Howard Pearl R-Loudon) given the Senate's reported veto-proof Republican majority, though Republicans largely back the governor on cannabis (https://newhampshirebulletin.com/briefs/ayotte-vetoes-bill-to-expand-cultivation-of-medicinal-marijuana/); the November 2026 elections, which put the governorship, every legislative seat, and a U.S. Senate seat on the ballot and could reshape the Senate chokepoint (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/); whether the state backfills the SAMHSA-cut harm-reduction services; and refiled adult-use, home-grow, annulment, and psilocybin bills in 2027.

Where commons counter-moves are present: the House is the counter-move engine, repeatedly passing reform with bipartisan support; small-amount cannabis is decriminalized (HB 640, 2017); and harm reduction is comparatively strong (test strips, syringe services, naloxone) and protects users directly. These keep the enclosure from being total even as the Senate holds the gate.

Justification for the enclosure score (3/5): The narrow, incumbent-dominated medical market, the absence of any small-operator or home-grow pathway, the lack of a citizen-initiative escape valve, and a state Senate plus governor actively holding the gate shut all push pressure upward. But there is no large legal market being captured by corporate consolidators (because no large legal market exists), no aggressive intoxicating-hemp capture-by-incumbents dynamic, and decriminalization plus a comparatively strong harm-reduction framework cut the other way. The fence is mostly the state holding the gate, not big players locking in a market, so a mid-scale 3 fits better than a 4; if HB 54 for-profit conversion passes and 280E relief entrenches the 3 incumbents ahead of any eventual adult-use market, the score would warrant revisiting upward.

Active legislation (2026)

Note: New Hampshire's 2026 regular session has adjourned sine die (early June 2026). The items below are the significant 2025-2026 measures and their dispositions; none remain pending. This list is not exhaustive; see the live trackers linked below for the long tail.

Beyond the live tracker

These measures are not in the live bill list below: some are not bills (executive orders, rules, referendums, or budgets), and some are proposals or prior-session measures the live tracker does not currently carry.

  • HB 54 Allow ATCs to convert from nonprofit to for-profit (Passed House on consent calendar; faced likely gubernatorial opposition; final 2026 enactment unconfirmed)
  • SB 468 Allow ATCs on-site/outdoor greenhouse cultivation (Passed both chambers; vetoed by Gov. Ayotte (June 2026))
Bill Title/Topic Chamber Status Sponsor(s)
HB 186 Legalize and regulate adult-use cannabis (private licensing) House (originated), Senate Passed House 208-135 (Jan 2026); tabled by Senate 15-9 Prime sponsor unconfirmed (Democratic-sponsored, bipartisan support); confirm via tracker
CACR 19 Constitutional amendment to refer cannabis legalization to voters House Died; House did not call a vote Rep. Jonah Wheeler (D-Peterborough)
HB 54 Allow ATCs to convert from nonprofit to for-profit House (originated) Passed House on consent calendar; faced likely gubernatorial opposition; final 2026 enactment unconfirmed Rep. Wendy Thomas (D-Merrimack)
SB 468 Allow ATCs on-site/outdoor greenhouse cultivation Senate (originated), House Passed both chambers; vetoed by Gov. Ayotte (June 2026) Sen. Howard Pearl (R-Loudon)
HB 1235 Legalize possession of small amounts (up to 2.5 oz) for 21+ House Introduced 2026 session; final status unconfirmed Sponsor unconfirmed; confirm via tracker
HB 1446 / SB 462 Firearms rights for medical cannabis patients House / Senate 2026 proposals; status unconfirmed Sponsors unconfirmed
HB 528 (2025) Reduce psilocybin penalties House (originated), Senate Passed House (consent agenda); tabled/killed in Senate Rep. Kevin Verville (R)
HB 196 (2025) Automatic annulment of cannabis possession convictions House (originated), Senate Passed House by voice vote; killed in Senate Judiciary Rep. Jonah Wheeler (D-Peterborough)
HB 226 (2025) Expand definition of drug-checking equipment House Introduced; enacted status unconfirmed Sponsor unconfirmed
HB 53 (2025) Medical patient home cultivation House (originated), Senate Passed House; tabled in Senate Sponsor unconfirmed
HB 190 (2025) Increase medical possession limits House (originated), Senate Passed House; tabled in Senate Sponsor unconfirmed

Live trackers: LegiScan New Hampshire (https://legiscan.com/NH), Marijuana Moment NH coverage (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/), and MPP's New Hampshire page (https://www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/).

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A planning snapshot for 2026, not legal advice. Policy moves quickly; confirm any single detail against the cited sources before acting on it. Sponsor names are given where confirmable and marked unconfirmed otherwise.

About the author. Jessica Mantonya is the founder of Drug Policy Watch and Hold in Common. She also advises operators, advocates, and funders on regulatory strategy and anti-enclosure positioning. Work with her →

Sources