Eligibility

Persons eligible for the Program are offenders ages 17–20 arrested by the Lebanon Police Department for first time offenders of small quantities of marijuana referred by the Prosecutor. A "first offender" is anyone who has NOT previously been arrested for an alcohol or drug related offenses. An offender arrested for possession in another district may not be referred to the Lebanon Court Diversion Program. Subsequent arrests prior to completing Diversion will render the applicant ineligible.

About the Programs (General)

The New Hampshire Cannabis Diversion Program is an educational alternative to appearing in court and is under the direction of the Valley Court Diversion Programs. This is a voluntary option available to all eligible offenders. Participation in a comparable educational program is not accepted. All offenders will be required to complete a Gain Q assessment (thorough substance abuse screening).

To successfully complete the Program and to have the charges against the offender dropped, a person must do the following:

1. Pay the Diversion fee; and
2. Register with Valley Court Diversion Programs and complete the requirements of the specific program

Attendance at all sessions is mandatory. Attendance means arriving on time, class participation and staying until the session ends. An offender who does not register, participate in class or attend all sessions will be considered to have withdrawn from the program. No program fees will be refunded.

The Diversion Program fee must be paid prior to participating in the first session not to include the initial intake interview. Failure to pay the fee within a reasonable period of time (to be determined by the Program Coordinator), will result in reinstating the original charges and requiring the offender to appear in Court.

Diversion sessions are usually scheduled once a month. An offender must attend the Saturday or weekday evening session on the first available date set by the Program Coordinator. The opportunity to participate in the program is the "break" offered to the offender. The offender is expected to arrange his/her schedule if the offender wishes to participate in the Diversion option.

Contact Person: Sara DeGennaro, New Hampshire Cannabis Diversion program Coordinator, (802)295-5078, ext. 13, or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Cannabis Program

These offenders will be required to contact the Lebanon Court Diversion Coordinator to schedule an initial interview. This first meeting will include the Gain Q assessment. The guidelines for the program will be discussed and the offender will be scheduled for either the Cannabis Program or a Court Diversion Hearing, to be determined upon intake.

Upon completion of the program the offender will be presented with a certificate of completion. In some cases it may be determined that additional counseling may be required before the offender is presented a certificate of completion. (These cases will be handled on a confidential basis.)