Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Connolly strongly supports decriminalizing marijuana in New Hampshire, and he may be willing to go further.
In a meeting with the Monitor editorial board Thursday, the Seacoast businessman said he would be open to legalizing recreational use of marijuana as long as it is paired with robust regulation.
“If a bill came to my desk that made sense in terms of New Hampshire and these things were on the table – a regulatory structure, where it’s bought and sold, the packaging of this stuff – if all of that has been addressed, I would sign it,” Connolly said. “But I don’t think we are there yet.”
Eight states, including Massachusetts and Vermont, will consider ending marijuana prohibition on Nov. 8. Only in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington is marijuana fully legal for recreational use. Several other states, including New Hampshire, allow it for medicinal purposes.
At least one of Connolly’s opponents, former Portsmouth mayor Steve Marchand, is fully in favor of legalizing marijuana, and acting before neighboring states to get a piece of the available market.
But whether it be decriminalization or full legalization, marijuana policy has often suffered a short life-span in the hands of legislators in Concord.
A bill that would have decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana was killed by the New Hampshire senate in April, mostly to the concern of legislators who worry it sends a wrong message as the state battles against an increasing rate of drug overdose deaths.
But Connolly, who recognized the opioid crisis as a top issue, finds it telling that New Hampshire is the only state in New England that has not passed legislation decriminalizing pot.
“You take a 19-year-old kid who has marijuana in his pocket and he gets arrested, and now they have a record, maybe impacting their loan (access), their employment ability,” Connolly said. “It’s just not right.”
Connolly, 60, of New Castle presented himself as the most experienced candidate in the Democratic primary with a history of work in the private and public sectors. In addition to Marchand, Connolly is also running against Executive Councilor Colin Van Ostern in the primary.
On the issues, Connolly said he would repeal the death penalty, raise the minimum wage, welcome Syrian refugees to the state and strive to further limit public access to military assault weapons. He also said he would prioritize aid to school districts based on “what’s needed” and not on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Despite his stance on the death penalty, Connolly said, without hesitation, he would sign the execution order for Michael Addison, who was convicted of killing Manchester police Officer Michael Briggs in 2006. Addison is New Hampshire’s only death row inmate.
“It was adjudicated by a court and I don’t think the governor is in a position, (no matter) his or her belief, to go in and overturn a court decision,” Connolly said. “I’m not going to impose my own personal views on it. But if a bill came to my desk to overturn the death penalty . . . I would sign it.”
On drug abuse, Connolly said he would raise the tobacco tax and funnel the revenue back into battling the opioid crisis, as well as seek other areas of “existing revenue.” As for law enforcement, he said the state can’t “arrest our way out of this” and needs to go after “the ultimate dealer.”
Connolly said progress has been made in several areas under Gov. Maggie Hassan, but he cited a few of her decisions where he disagreed, such as including gambling in her two-year budget from 2013 and appointing former state senator Jerry Little as banking commissioner.
Connolly and Van Ostern have both expressed opposition to governor’s appointment due to Little’s history as a former lobbyist for the state’s banking industry. And Connolly wasn’t too shy to share his thoughts that the political system in Concord has many flaws.
“If you have a person who essentially acted as a lobbyist for an association, he or she should not become the new regulator of that industry,” Connolly said. “I was a regulator, and I feel that in some respects Concord is broken. I think lobbying influence is bigger than it should be.”
On gambling, Connolly believes New Hampshire missed its opportunity to tap into the industry before other states in the region.
“The market is saturated with these things,” Connolly said.
He added that gambling has become “increasingly diminished” since legislation has never made it through State House. Plainly, Connolly does not like the idea of casinos popping up in the Granite State.
“I don’t look at these kinds of jobs as being the definition of economic development in New Hampshire,” he said.
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3309, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)