Board of Aldermen 04-09-2019 Page 5
and North since September. There’s a large amount and the majority of the students in the High Schools
are under 18. But also a survey an academic survey that was administered showed that 61.5% of youth
who reported current use, get their devices from someone that is legal other than a parent. Thank you very
much for your time. As you can see | am very passionate about protecting our youth and hopefully this
important ordinance that Alderman Jette is proposing will pass. Thank you.
Justin O’Donnell Thank you Mr. President, members of the Board of Aldermen, my name is Justin
O’Donnell and | live at 355 Main Street in Nashua. Some of you may know me, | have run for federal office
here in New Hampshire several times. | am again seeking federal office in 2020 as an independent
candidate and | usually campaign on a platform of leaving all legislative and policy decisions to the most
local level possible, which would be Boards like yourself in a Town or a City. However, just because | want
to make those decisions at the most local level possible to keep the State and Federal Governments from
meddling in people’s lives, to give the most local control doesn’t mean that exerting as much local control
as possible is the right answer.
Now | understand all the fears and the hopes that we can do something to better the health of the children
and our teens in our high schools. However emotions don’t make for good public policy. Emotions ignore
the facts. Emotions don’t recognize that this bill you are voting on does not ban possession, it doesn’t even
penalize anyone for possession. It only penalizes students for the attempt for the purchase. It only
penalizes 18 to 21 year olds if they attempt to purchase it and these stores that will sell it to them. It also
exempts on-line sales, it doesn’t prohibit anyone from purchasing anything on-line unless the distributor or
retailer is in Nashua. Because an outside business doesn’t care what your laws are, they care about their
profit margin and that’s it. Overseas sellers from China and Europe will ship the vaping products, I’ve
purchased them on-line myself, there is no age verification, they don’t care as long as you pay. They don’t
care where it comes from.
Our concern is about the kids in the schools who are getting access to these when it already illegal for them
under 18 to purchase them in the first place. And the studies show they do that these students get their
vaping products and their tobacco products from people other than parents over the legal age, the same
people they get their alcohol from and their marihuana from, things we’ve already banned and made illegal
for kids under the age of 21 yet still hasn’t stopped. All this Bill will accomplish is to create an anti-business
environment by driving those sales outside of Nashua because it’s not illegal in Merrimack, it’s not illegal in
Hudson for 20 year olds and 19 year olds. It’s not illegal in Manchester for anyone. You'll create a black
market, you'll create an increased value for those who do travel to purchase them and bring them back to
the kids who want them. You won’t solve the problem you'll create a bigger one. This Bill has no teeth of
enforcement. This Bill doesn’t solve the problem; it just creates new ones. It is a Bill proposed on emotion
to do something good without recognizing that the public policy is more important and noting how it is going
to affect the community as a whole.
Our businesses in Nashua, some rely on tobacco sales, small independent family owned convenience
stores that operate a tiny margin of profit to begin with rely on the fact that we are competitive and people
from Massachusetts drive up here to buy their tobacco by carton at a time because we haven't legislated
away their ability to do what they want. You will create a patchwork of regulation, you will create a disparity
in law between Nashua and Merrimack and other States. And while | usually advocate for the most local
level of control if you are going to do something like this, one it has to have teeth to enforce it and two it
would have to be State-Wide because as of now there is no incentive for someone who lives on the border
to just not drive to Merrimack, Hudson, Manchester, it’s not that difficult to get them and bring them back to
Nashua when there is no punishment for doing so. So this ordinance as amended is a waste of everyone’s
consideration as far as I’m concerned because it will change nothing.
And | understand the concerns; | agree with the concerns. | started smoking at 16, I’ve been quitting for 13
years now | say. It is incredibly addictive, it’s very difficult to overcome. But if we are going to argue that 18
year olds aren’t emotionally or mentally mature enough to make that decision for themselves, then why do
we let them vote? Thank you.
