Cannabis sales begin in Vermont, leaving New Hampshire an island in a sea of green
Oct. 2—The parking lot of a Tyngsborough, Mass., cannabis dispensary was jammed after work on Friday — and more than half of the cars jostling for a spot bore New Hampshire plates.
New Hampshire is the only New England state that has not legalized cannabis for adult use. That hasn't stopped Granite Staters crossing state lines to buy pot — much like out-of-staters come to New Hampshire to buy fireworks and gamble on sports.
Cannabis is for sale across the state lines in Massachusetts and Maine. And as of Saturday, dispensaries are open to the over-21 public in Vermont.
Scott Sparks, who owns three cannabis-related businesses in Brattleboro, Vermont, said he gets a fair bit of business from New Hampshire customers for his CBD products, the non-high-producing oils, gummies and other products derived from hemp and cannabis. Sparks has online ads targeting New Hampshire customers as well.
Sparks hasn't started retail sales yet of cannabis — he hopes to open his doors by mid-October, but the timeline depends on a few more layers of bureaucracy as Vermont's cannabis market and regulators find their footing.
Later this month, Sparks said he expects plenty of business coming from the New Hampshire side of the Connecticut River to buy cannabis for "adult use" — that is, use that isn't medical or therapeutic. The cannabis industry tends to object to the term "recreational," just like it tends to prefer the term "cannabis" to "marijuana."
If New Hampshire-adjacent dispensaries in Maine and Massachusetts are any indication, cannabis shops in eastern Vermont can expect to see Granite Staters lining up for cannabis.
The idea of cannabis for adult use is popular in New Hampshire, even if it's not legal.
A University of New Hampshire survey from earlier this year found almost three-quarters of Granite State residents support legalizing marijuana, but the Legislature has so far voted down bills that would make adult use legal.
New Hampshire has legalized cannabis for therapeutic use for people who have been prescribed cannabis for treating the symptoms of health conditions.
Different state, different law
Plenty of New Englanders live their lives across state lines, crossing the invisible boundaries to see family, friends and to go to work. Much like Massachusetts residents can cross into New Hampshire to buy the big fireworks that are outlawed in the Bay State, Granite Staters can venture across state lines to legally use cannabis.
"A day trip certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility for people," said Catherine Burke, an attorney with the Burlington, Vermont, firm Gravel and Shea, who has worked with business owners on retail applications.
Buying is legal in all the states surrounding New Hampshire, but actually using cannabis gets a little more complicated.
It is illegal to take cannabis across state lines — that's a matter of federal law. Smoking is tricky. There are no New England states where it's legal to light up in public or otherwise use cannabis in the open, though Massachusetts is considering the option. And most hotels and vacation rentals frown upon indoor smoking of any kind.
What's a day tripper to do? One tourism website, Visit New England, suggests travelers who want to "enhance their vacation" try edibles.
States that have legalized cannabis for adult use also have set up requirements to test the plant matter being sold, and they test cannabis products like edibles for potency.
Burke said testing can give consumers a level of reassurance that they're not buying adulterated products, as well as give users a better sense of the potential effects.
"That can give people a lot of comfort for people who thought about it but were afraid to use," Burke said.
Local control
In the last legislative session, the New Hampshire Senate voted against three cannabis-related bills, including one that would have put the state liquor commission in the business of cannabis sales.
The state-monopoly proposal was a contrast to Vermont's rules, which prioritize small businesses and local control.
In Vermont, cities and towns have to vote to allow cannabis businesses. About 70 have opted in, with some communities setting up other permitting and licensing controls and fees.
Vermont's cities and college towns have opted in. No surprise there.
Burke said several rural Northeast Kingdom towns have opted in too.
"Some rural areas said this could be a big industry, 'we want in on this,' " she said.
Cities and towns in Massachusetts have taken a variety of steps, from banning retail establishments to setting up locally specific zoning requirements and putting other guardrails in place, including caps on the number of dispensaries allowed in town, or bans on delivery services.
In both Massachusetts and Maine, towns charge widely varying fees to open dispensaries.
Vermont's laws include measures to keep big businesses out and make sure no one business becomes dominant in the industry.
"It's not corporate," Sparks said.
Everything has to be grown and purchased in Vermont, he said. New entrepreneurs are encouraged, with reduced licensing fees for groups like veterans, people of color and those convicted of low-level cannabis crimes that would no longer be illegal.
Vermont rules also stand in the way of any local business growing too much.
"I can run a very successful store here but I can't open another one," Sparks said. "I can only hold one retail license."
