More than 2,100 new patients signed up with New Hampshire’s Therapeutic Cannabis Program last year, bringing the total registry to nearly 17,000, according to new state data.

That increase — about 14.5% from the year prior — is the largest since 2021.

Likely driving the growth were changes to state law in 2024 that allowed more people to qualify for medical marijuana use. They can now join the program at doctors’ discretion — which covers any debilitating or terminal condition or symptom, as long as their medical provider agrees the benefits of cannabis could outweigh the risks — or with a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder.

More than 900 patients list anxiety as their qualifying condition, according to the report issued this week by the state Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the program.

“There was certainly an uptick in growth after those bills took effect in late 2024. It hasn’t skyrocketed, but has somewhat accelerated the growth of the program,” said Matt Simon, a lobbyist for GraniteLeaf Cannabis, one of three licensed cannabis providers in the state. “Where we’ve been, this extremely tiny program that was tiny for years, it is steadily growing.”

With 16,846 people, about 1.2% of the population are either certified patients or designated caregivers, who are authorized to buy cannabis on behalf of a patient. That’s close to one in every 84 Granite Staters.

The data released by the state was collected in June 2025. Simon estimates roughly 1,000 more people have joined since then.

The Therapeutic Cannabis Program, established in 2013, is the only way to lawfully consume marijuana in New Hampshire, as recreational use remains illegal. Patients require a doctor’s approval to join and receive a state-issued card that licenses them to buy medical cannabis products from seven dispensaries across the state, operated by three producers: GraniteLeaf Cannabis, Sanctuary Medicinals and Temescal Wellness.

The new data comes as the Trump administration reclassified medical marijuana last month as a less dangerous drug, effectively legitimizing programs run in 40 states, including New Hampshire’s. The change opens the door for more cannabis research and potential tax breaks for producers.

In New Hampshire, program demographics skew older. Nearly a quarter of patients are between 55 and 65 years old, and almost 70% are over 45. Pain is far and away the most common condition that people aim to treat with cannabis.

Patients are concentrated in southern New Hampshire and in towns with dispensaries, also called alternative treatment centers. There are seven across the state in Chichester, N.H., Conway, N.H., Dover, N.H., Keene, N.H., Lebanon, Merrimack, N.H., and Plymouth, N.H.

Concord has between 300 and 734 patients, according to the state data. Manchester has the most patients out of any municipality, at 1,150.

Despite the program’s growth, cost and accessibility remain a challenge. Jerry Knirk, a retired surgeon and state representative who now chairs the state’s Therapeutic Cannabis Medical Oversight Board, said New Hampshire’s strict regulatory environment plays a role.

“Part of the issue is we have a very high-quality, highly regulated program with testing of all products and lots of restrictions and things, and that does make things more expensive, but it’s how you keep the quality to be really high,” Knirk said. “We want to have really good quality. Unfortunately, it does make it a little bit harder.

One family of three spent $548 after discounts on a six-week supply of their medicine, which they use for chronic pain and other ailments, the Monitor reported last year.

Limited retail locations also mean that in some parts of the North Country, patients must drive upwards of an hour to obtain their medicine.

“The lack of dispensary locations, well, yeah, that is a problem,” Knirk said.

The oversight board, joined by other advocates, has pushed for laws to alleviate those concerns. Some of the biggest include allowing patients to grow their own medicine at home and allowing dispensaries to use outdoor greenhouses to cut electricity costs.

That legislation is introduced in the State House almost every year but is often torpedoed by Republicans’ concerns over security protocols.

While advocates expected little movement on marijuana policy under Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who opposes legalizing recreational use, the bill to allow greenhouse cultivation is nearing the finish line this session. Former governor Chris Sununu vetoed a similar bill two years ago; Ayotte hasn’t indicated whether she’d sign it.

Simon said that while cost and accessibility are still challenges, patient satisfaction with the program is improving.

“We started in a tough place with a lot of people really not liking the law and the program,” he said. “I think it’s been steady growth and steady improvement. Prices have come down somewhat, and the vibes are better.”

WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) today endorsed Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH) for the United States Senate, citing his sustained leadership on Armenian American legislative priorities, his principled stand against U.S. arms transfers to Turkey and Azerbaijan, and the stark contrast he offers to a likely Republican opponent whose family holds a multi-million dollar stake in a mining company profiting from Azerbaijan’s genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh.

Rep. Pappas — the favorite to win the Democratic nomination — is expected to face former U.S. Senator John E. Sununu, the leading contender for the Republican nomination in the race to succeed retiring Senator Jeanne Shaheen.

“Chris Pappas has shown up — year after year, vote after vote, letter after letter — for justice for the Armenian people,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “He has stood with displaced Artsakh Armenians, with the families of hostages held in Baku, and with every Armenian American family asking their government to stop arming the regimes that target Armenians. That is the kind of leadership Armenian Americans want representing them in the United States Senate.”

A Substantive Pro-Armenian Record

A member of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, Rep. Pappas has compiled one of the most consistent pro-Armenian records in the U.S. House, earning a sustained “A” grade on the ANCA Congressional Report Card across multiple Congresses. He is a perennial co-signer of the Armenian Caucus’s annual foreign aid appropriations letters – supported by the ANCA – calling for robust U.S. humanitarian assistance to Armenia and Artsakh refugees, expanded U.S.-Armenia security cooperation, and the strict enforcement of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act restrictions on military aid to Azerbaijan.

Rep. Pappas signed the June 2025 Armenian Caucus letter affirming the right of return for Armenians forcibly displaced from Artsakh, and the FY2026 foreign operations appropriations letter advancing the full slate of ANCA-backed priorities. Across multiple Congresses, he has cosponsored the Artsakh Blockade Resolution (H.Res.108), the Armenian Genocide Education Act, and a range of measures supporting Section 907 enforcement, Global Magnitsky sanctions against Azerbaijani officials responsible for war crimes, and continued U.S. recognition of and education about the Armenian Genocide.

Leading the Fight Against U.S. Arms Sales to Turkey

As Co-Chair of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus, Rep. Pappas has emerged as one of Capitol Hill’s most forceful voices against U.S. fighter jet sales to Turkey, a fight the ANCA has supported at every turn. In September 2025, he led a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth opposing the Trump Administration’s discussions with President Erdogan over the sale of F-16 and F-35 aircraft to Turkey, despite Ankara’s continued possession of Russian S-400 missile systems in violation of U.S. law.

“Congress has consistently upheld bipartisan restrictions on Turkey’s access to the F-35,” Pappas and his colleagues wrote. “Any move to reverse this policy without first securing the statutorily required certification would be a clear violation of U.S. law, undermine Congressional authority, and signal to others that U.S. law and strategic principles can be disregarded.”

In prior Congresses, Pappas secured passage of a bipartisan amendment to the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act prohibiting the sale of F-16s to Turkey, an effort the ANCA actively championed.

A New Hampshire Voice for the Armenian American Community

Rep. Pappas’ Congressional office has engaged directly with New Hampshire’s Armenian American community throughout his tenure, listening to constituent concerns and translating them into legislative action.

“Chris Pappas has been there for our community when it counted,” said Alla Gevorgyan, ANCA activist from New Hampshire. “He took the time to understand the issues facing our community, ensured our concerns were heard, and — most importantly — translated engagement into meaningful action.” Granite State Armenian Americans know we have a real friend in Chris Pappas, and we are proud to stand with him in this race.”

A Stark Contrast: The Sununu Family’s Anglo Asian Mining Holdings

The race also presents Granite State voters with a sharp choice on questions of corruption, accountability, and complicity in the genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh. Former Senator John E. Sununu, the leading Republican contender, is the son of John H. Sununu, who holds an estimated 9 to 10 percent stake (valued at roughly $16 million) in Anglo Asian Mining, a company operating gold, copper, and silver mines in Azerbaijan. His brother, Michael Sununu, serves as a Non-Executive Director of the same company.

Anglo Asian Mining publicly welcomed Azerbaijan’s 2020 military assault on Artsakh as opening new commercial opportunities, and moved aggressively to operationalize mining sites in territories from which Armenians had been displaced. The company’s claims to mining rights in Artsakh – including the Kashen mine in occupied Martakert – were among the pretexts cited by Azerbaijan for its 2022-2023 blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the nine-month siege that preceded Azerbaijan’s September 2023 genocidal ethnic cleansing of more than 120,000 indigenous Armenians from their homeland. Anglo Asian began copper production at Kashen in 2025.

“Armenian Americans – and every American who cares about human rights – deserve to know whether their next Senator’s family is profiting from the ethnic cleansing of an indigenous Christian people,” Hamparian added. “The Sununu family has direct financial and governance ties to a company cashing in on Azerbaijan’s genocide and occupation of indigenous Armenian lands. That is a question John E. Sununu will need to answer to New Hampshire voters.”

Armenian Americans and all New Hampshire voters can learn more about Rep. Chris Pappas’s record by reviewing his ANCA Report Card and visiting Congressional and campaign websites.

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A soaking rain is expected to arrive Thursday evening across New Hampshire, where moderate drought still persists.

The National Weather Service reports that thunderstorms are possible in central New Hampshire and wind gusts could reach up to 40 mph.

Their forecast indicates that the White Mountains and foothills could get the heaviest rainfall, as much as 1 inch.

Related: Ongoing drought could fuel a more intense wildfire season in NH

Rangers with the state Division of Forests & Lands posted Wednesday’s fire danger at moderate levels.

WMUR reports firefighters from half a dozen communities responded in Deerfield on Tuesday to help the Deerfield Fire Department contain a brush fire, which was exacerbated by windy conditions.

After this rain storm, New Hampshire can expect to see mostly sunny days Thursday and Friday. The next chance of rain is Saturday afternoon and evening.