N.H. appeals medical marijuana ruling to state Supreme Court

By ELLA NILSEN Last modified: 2/18/2016 12:12:07 AM

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office is appealing a November court ruling that opened the door for state residents to obtain therapeutic cannabis in other states.



The ruling allowed qualified patients waiting for the state’s alternative treatment centers to open this spring to receive ID cards, which can be used at dispensaries in other states to buy therapeutic cannabis. The attorney general’s office is seeking clarity from the Supreme Court to determine whether patients will still be allowed to travel out of state once New Hampshire dispensaries open.



“It’s a tight system and letting people go out of that to go to another state . . . we don’t feel that’s in line with what the statute is trying to accomplish,” said Assistant Attorney General Frank Fredericks.



The state pursued a similar argument in November, after Alstead labor activist Linda Horan sued to get her registry card. Horan lost her battle to lung cancer earlier this month, but not before legally making the trip to Maine to buy therapeutic cannabis with her state-issued ID card in hand.



During that suit, the attorney general’s office said state law only allowed patients to purchase cannabis from a single dispensary designated as their primary location. As a result, Horan shouldn’t be allowed to obtain cannabis until New Hampshire’s own alternative treatment centers opened.



A judge disagreed, siding with Horan in late November. The attorney general’s office filed it’s appeal to the state Supreme Court on Dec. 22.



“The legal issue is crystalized from the fact that we argued it at the Superior Court,” Fredericks said. “It’s really the Supreme Court hearing the arguments that we made back in November.”



Horan’s attorney, Paul Twomey, filed a motion to dismiss the appeal Tuesday. In an interview Wednesday, Twomey called the attorney general’s most recent action “frivolous” and “absurd,” in large part because Horan died without leaving a representative to continue fighting for her case.



“You can’t do it after the case is over in the Superior Court and you certainly can’t do it after the opponent on the other side has passed away,” he said.



Twomey said the appeal does not raise any questions that weren’t brought forth in November, such as whether Horan could purchase marijuana in Maine or bring it back home to New Hampshire.



Twomey says the current statute “says nothing about where you get it from.”



“It’s clear, it’s unambiguous,” he said.



He said New Hampshire’s courts and Legislature can’t weigh in on Maine law.



“They can’t control what happens in Maine,” he said. “I just don’t know what to say. They can’t control it.”



Democratic state Rep. Renny Cushing, a medical marijuana proponent and good friend to Horan, said he was shocked the state was putting more time and money “to drag a dead woman to the Supreme Court in an effort to thwart the intent of the legislature” to let qualified patients use medical marijuana.



“The AG’s office should have more respect for the dead,” he said.



New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services has granted conditional permits to two out of three of its alternative treatment centers to begin cultivating medical marijuana, according to John Martin, manager of the department’s Bureau of Licensing and Certification.



Sanctuary ATC and Temescal Wellness had their cultivation sites inspected by the state and were given approval to start growing on Jan. 14 and 26, respectively. The third, Prime Alternative Treatment Center, is preparing its facility and should be ready to be inspected in up to four weeks, Martin said.



Given the three to four months it takes to cultivate a cannabis crop, Martin estimates dispensaries will be open and dispensing this spring.



Martin said the attorney general’s appeal also raises economic questions if New Hamsphire patients can buy out of state.



“That’s one of the main reasons for the appeal,” he said. “Certainly, we wouldn’t want to see our ATC’s losing business.”



For his part, Cushing said it’s taken long enough for New Hampshire’s alternative treatment centers to open, and doesn’t believe the state should shut off patient access to cannabis in other states.



“Linda Horan was a fierce fighter for what is right,” Cushing said. “Dead or alive, I think the truth of her position will prevail.”







(Ella Nilsen can be reached at 369-3322, enilsen@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @ella_nilsen)





