Howard “Cowboy” Wooldridge is hard to miss. In the middle of a New Hampshire snowstorm the day before the state’s primary vote, Wooldridge could be found at various presidential candidates’ events wearing a big belt buckle and a cowboy hat.

But possibly the most interesting part of his getup was his shirt.

The belt buckle, he explained, was from when he rode a horse by himself across the United States. And the cowboy hat? Aside from proclaiming his Texas roots, he said it helps him stand out among the thousands of lobbyists in Washington, DC.

No state east of the Mississippi has legalized marijuana, but the land of Yankees has several states that could free the weed this year.

No state east of the Mississippi has legalized marijuana, but that's very likely to change this year, and New England will be leading the way. Two of the six New England states will likely let the voters make the call in November, while the others all have legalization bills pending.

So far, with the exception of Washington, DC, where voters elected to legalize the possession and cultivation, but not the sale of marijuana in 2014, all of the legalization action has been in the West. The four states that have legalized it so far—Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington—are all Western states.

By Anthony Johnson

Marijuana is ripe for reform in New Hampshire, and pro-reform candidates might see that pay off with primary voters.

As New Hampshire gears up for Tuesday’s 2016 presidential primary, marijuana reform is shaping up to be a significant issue for both parties.

New Hampshire is currently considering a marijuana decriminalization bill and two legalization bills, and polls show a majority of voters in the state support both moves, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

Bernie Sanders defeated Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, and Donald Trump also scored his first victory in a triumph of two candidates who have seized on Americans' anger at the Washington political establishment.

A protester demonstrates in front of the State House in Concord in this 2010 file photo. Five years later the first medical marijuana prescription has yet to be written. 

A bill introduced Thursday in the New Hampshire state assembly seeks to add post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to the list of ailments eligible for medical marijuana treatment, which was legalized in 2013 but remains hard to obtain in the Granite state.

EARLIER this month, former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida opened up on a subject he had once chided reporters for asking about: his daughter, Noelle, who, he said, “was addicted to drugs.”

In a video released by the campaign, Mr. Bush speaks plainly about his daughter’s struggle, her time in jail and drug court, and her recovery. “I can look in people’s eyes and I know that they’ve gone through the same thing that Columba and I have,” he said, referring to his wife.

New Hampshire’s roll out of its medical marijuana program has been slow, but the coming months will see four new dispensaries opening their doors across the state.

With 180 patient applications filed and 62 therapeutic cannabis registry ID cards issued so far, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services officials say they’ve been fielding lots of calls from patients with a similar complaint: their doctors won’t agree to sign paperwork needed for an ID card.

“We’re getting calls from patients with concerns that their doctors are unwilling to certify them for the program for whatever reason,” said Michael Holt, administrative rules coordinator for the department. “Patients are taking the initiative and starting conversations with their doctors.”

Rochester will be growing site for Plymouth dispensary

ROCHESTER, N.H. —The availability of medical marijuana in New Hampshire is a big step closer to reality after the state gave approval to the first of three locations to cultivate the drug.

The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Friday that it has started mailing out identification cards to 176 Granite Staters who qualified to purchase medical marijuana. The drug first has to be grown and cultivated, and Rochester is one of three locations where that will happen.

A mill building will be home to Sanctuary ATC's medical cannabis cultivation operation, complete with a lab and commercial kitchen.

Maybe this is the year we finally admit that legalization will happen eventually and just get it over with already.

Another year, another ray of hope that the New Hampshire government will finally wise up and legalize marijuana for recreational use.

Now I’m not saying that marijuana is the greatest thing and can cure all diseases, but using it is a personal choice that adults should be able to make on their own.