New Hampshire things to know: Politics, medical marijuana
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - The first visit of a potential presidential candidate, the review of the sentence for the state's only death row inmate and the opening of a gruesome murder trial in Sullivan County made headlines this week. Coming up next week, the state legislature gets busy, a deadline looms for medical marijuana and a member of a drug cartel is expected to be sentenced. Here are things to know in New Hampshire:
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RAND PAUL VISITS
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was back in New Hampshire as he moves closer to deciding whether to formally seek the Republican presidential nomination. Paul was a frequent visitor in the run-up to November's midterms and is the first to come back since the beginning of the year. It's the beginning of what is expected to be a busy year in presidential politics as a crowded field of Republicans - and a much smaller group of Democrats - court the state that holds the nation's first primary.
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DEATH PENALTY APPEAL
The state's highest court will likely take six to eight months to rule on the last direct appeal of the state's only death row inmate. Lawyers for Michael Addison argued on Thursday that the Supreme Court should compare his death sentence to those of 366 similar cases around the nation to determine if it was fair. The state argued only 12 other cases were comparable. Addison was convicted of killing Manchester police officer Michael Briggs in 2006. After Thursday's hearing, Assistant Manchester Police Chief Nick Willard said he would respect whatever decision the court made but said Addison is getting the justice that Briggs did not.
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WIFE KILLED
Grisly testimony marked the opening of the murder trial of James Robarge of Vermont, accused of killing his wife the day she filed for divorce. In Sullivan County Superior Court, prosecutors said the now 45-year-old Robarge killed Kelly Robarge, 42, on June 27, 2013, then dumped her body in the woods. The body was found 10 days later, so badly ravaged by animals and decomposed that an autopsy couldn't determine how she died, only that it was by "homicidal violence." Robarge's lawyer says he did not kill his wife and that a mysterious man was seen lurking in the area that day. The trial is expected to take five weeks.
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MEDICAL MARIJUANA
The state has until Friday to pick at least two "alternative treatment centers" that can dispense marijuana for certain medical conditions. A dispensary was proposed last week in Littleton, joining possible sites in Epping and Franklin. The state can license up to four dispensaries. New Hampshire in 2013 passed a law allowing seriously ill residents to use marijuana to treat their illnesses.
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LEGISLATURE GETS TO WORK
The statehouse will begin to get busy on specific bills in the coming week as lawmakers get back to work. With Gov. Maggie Hassan's budget proposal still weeks away, legislators will begin considering other measures, including one that could take the state out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a 12-year-old collaboration among all six New England states plus New York, Delaware and Maryland, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
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DRUG CARTEL SENTENCING
One of three men charged in New Hampshire with trying to expand the reach of one of the world's most notorious drug gangs is set to be sentenced Thursday. Rafael Humberto Celaya Valenzuela was convicted of working with the violent Sinaloa cartel's reach into Europe and the United States. The gang said it could supply thousands of kilos of cocaine. He faces 10 years to life in prison. Joaquin Guzman, known as "El Chapo," led the cartel in Mexico until his arrest in February.