The N.H. House passed a bill Wednesday that would legalize adult possession of up to two ounces of marijuana, but state representatives said its chances of becoming law were not bright.

Lawmakers approved House Bill 198, 208-125.

The N.H. Senate has opposed legalizing marijuana for recreational use numerous times in the past. Gov. Kelly Ayotte is against legalization.

State Rep. Jennifer Rhodes, R-Winchester, told the House Wednesday there was no point in passing HB 198 given such opposition.

“Colleagues, for as long as I’ve been here, we are up here discussing marijuana,” said Rhodes, who was first elected in 2020 and represents Winchester, Richmond, Swanzey, Troy and Fitzwilliam.

“We keep passing [bills] out of this body. They go nowhere.”

But HB 198’s sponsor, Rep. Jared Sullivan, D-Bethlehem, said possible opposition in the Senate or the governor’s office was not a good reason to reject it.

Previous attempts at legalization drew opposition over the issue of public consumption, which HB 198 would not permit.

The measure also doesn’t allow the sale of marijuana. It merely legalizes possession of up to two ounces, no matter where it was purchased.

Differing approaches to how it would be sold and how the state would regulate or license such sales have stood in the way of passage in the past.

“Let’s stop arresting people and ruining their lives for possession of cannabis, something that many other states in the country have already legalized for possession and in most places for sale,” Sullivan told the House before representatives passed his bill.

Sullivan acknowledged it would be a “tall ask” for the N.H. Senate to concur, but he said he has spoken to some senators who indicated they might be able to support it, particularly given its prohibition on public consumption.

States bordering New Hampshire have all legalized the drug. Sullivan cited as an example Vermont, which first legalized possession in 2018 and approved sales in a regulated market in 2022.

In a Sept. 3 debate on WMUR, Ayotte, said she fears legalization could harm public health and safety.

“We have to ask what is the best for the quality of life for the people of New Hampshire,” she said. “When you legalize something, you are sending a different message to our young people, and I don’t want to add to the mental health crisis.”

Senate President Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry, has also expressed opposition to legalization in the past.

But if the Senate were to pass HB 198, it would be difficult for it or the House to muster sufficient support to override a potential veto by Ayotte, a Republican.

Republicans hold a 16-8 majority in the Senate, and a 220-177 majority in the House. A two-thirds majority is required in both chambers to override a governor’s veto.

Possession of up to three-quarters of an ounce of marijuana was decriminalized in New Hampshire in 2017, and carries a violation-level penalty, like a speeding ticket, instead of a criminal offense.

Also, licensed alternative treatment centers have been allowed to sell marijuana for therapeutic purposes in New Hampshire since 2016.

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