The Measure Will Take Effect As Soon As It Is Signed by Gov. Lepage, Whose Administration Supports It. AUGUSTA - Medical marijuana dispensaries in Maine will be allowed to treat plants with certain low-risk pesticides if a bill enacted Friday by the Legislature becomes law. L.D. 1531, an emergency measure sponsored by Sen. Thomas Saviello, R-Wilton, a former chairman of the Maine Board of Pesticides Control, passed in the House without a roll-call vote Friday. The Senate passed it Thursday. [continues 476 words]
AUGUSTA - Medical marijuana dispensaries would be allowed to treat plants with certain low-risk pesticides if a bill enacted by the Maine Legislature on Friday makes it into law. The bill, L.D. 1531, an emergency measure sponsored by Sen. Thomas Saviello, R-Wilton, a former chairman of the Maine Board of Pesticides Control, passed the House of Representatives without a roll-call vote on Friday. The Senate passed it on Thursday. It would take effect as soon as Gov. Paul LePage, whose administration supports the bill, signs it. [continues 472 words]
We already have tension between state and federal law, and don't need an ineffective local ordinance that is at odds with both. Marijuana is illegal. Unless you live in Washington state or Colorado. Then you can smoke it as much as you want. Or unless you live in Maine or one of 17 other states where medical marijuana is legal, and you suffer from a condition approved for treatment. You can buy your medicine at a state government-approved dispensary, and you should be safe from prosecution - unless the U.S. attorney general changes his mind and starts aggressively enforcing the trafficking laws again. Then your dispensary could get busted. [continues 308 words]
Tom MacMillan PORTLAND, Maine - A push to legalize recreational marijuana in Maine's largest city appears poised to go before Portland voters this fall. A coalition of political groups and activists who want make possession of the drug legal for adults turned in a petition Thursday with more than 3,200 signatures, twice the 1,500 signatures needed to place the measure on the November ballot. Led by the Portland Green Independent Committee, the coalition submitted the petition to city officials, paving the way for voters to weigh in on the citizen initiative this fall. The city has 15 days to review the signatures and certify the petition. [continues 511 words]
The proposed ordinance would allow those 21 or older to possess up to 2.5 ounces of pot, while prohibiting its use in public spaces, such as parks, schools and sidewalks. PORTLAND - A proposal to legalize small amounts of marijuana possession for adults in the city is likely to go to Portland voters this fall. A coalition of proponents, led by the Portland Green Party, on Thursday morning handed in petitions with more than 3,200 signatures to city officials, the first step toward putting the proposal on the November ballot. The city requires 1,500 valid signatures for citizen initiatives to gain a spot on the ballot. [continues 125 words]
Opponents See It As a Danger to Society and in Conflict With Federal Law, but the Plan Isn't Dead Yet. A proposal to legalize and tax marijuana in Maine failed to win support from a legislative committee Tuesday. The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted 8-3 against endorsing L.D. 1229, sponsored by Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland. Russell and other advocates say that legalizing recreational use of marijuana would bring the existing marijuana trade aboveboard and produce both tax revenue and business income. [continues 527 words]
Scott Thistle, State Politics Editor Maine | Friday, May 3, 2013 at 5:00 pm AUGUSTA - Dozens testified Friday on a bill that would let Maine voters decide whether to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Those in favor of the change told the Legislature's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee that prohibition doesn't work and the country's 30-year war on drugs has been a failure. "As a fiscal conservative, I'm very concerned about useless government programs that create waste and waste taxpayer dollars and increase the deficit," Ashley Ryan of Portland told the committee. Ryan is a national committeewoman for the Maine Republican Party. [continues 932 words]
Legalization Could Shut Down Medical Pot Providers AUGUSTA - Medical marijuana groups are wary of a bill that would legalize and tax marijuana in Maine. Estimates nationwide suggest if marijuana were legal, much of the profit gained by medical retailers and black-market criminals would disappear. That worries Glenn Peterson, the owner of Canuvo, a Biddeford medical-marijuana dispensary. He also serves as president of the Maine Association of Dispensary Operators, a trade group made up of five Maine dispensary owners. Peterson said his group is concerned that the bill could "eliminate the medical marijuana industry" in Maine. [continues 1109 words]
In the history of the city of Lafayette, Colo., my resignation probably went down as one of the more memorable. I left my position as a municipal court judge in protest of a proposal to increase the penalties for marijuana possession in the city. Some people agreed with my stance, some disagreed, but I suspect the majority of people probably found it frivolous: Did this guy really give up such a powerful position just so he could smoke a doobie in the afternoon? [continues 596 words]
This letter is in response to a March 29 column called " Marijuana legalization: An easy way out, " by Dr. Robert Q. Dana at the University of Maine. Dana apparently assumes drug prohibition keeps people from using drugs. Drug prohibition does not keep people from using drugs. If anything, it facilitates drug use by turning distribution and sale over to drug dealers who will sell anything to anybody. For at least the past 30 years, teens have reported that it is easier for them to get marijuana than alcohol. To buy alcohol you need to be of legal age and prove it. To buy marijuana all you need is money. We need legal regulated sale so we, not drug dealers, are in charge of distribution and sale. [continues 149 words]
AUGUSTA, Maine - A bill that would let Maine voters decide in a statewide referendum if the state should legalize marijuana for recreational use saw dozens of people testify before the Legislature's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on Friday. Those who support the law change said prohibition doesn't work and the country's 30-year war on drugs has been a failure. "As a fiscal conservative I'm very concerned about useless government programs that create waste and waste taxpayer dollars and increase the deficit," Ashley Ryan of Portland told the committee. Ryan is a national committeewoman for the Maine Republican Party. [continues 1096 words]
Robert Long, Bangor Daily News Maine | Wednesday, March 27, 2013 at 4:20 pm AUGUSTA - A bill to legalize recreational use of marijuana and regulate it like alcohol in Maine has garnered 35 co-sponsors and now heads to a legislative committee hearing. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland, would make major changes in Maine's drug law, ranging from making possession of up to 2.5 ounces of pot legal to imposing a tax of $50 per ounce. It was referred to the Legislature's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on Wednesday. [continues 566 words]
The people of Colorado and Washington state are way ahead of the politicians in Washington, D.C. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a grand success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, prohibition is a catastrophic failure. The United States has double the rate of use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. The war on marijuana consumers is a failed cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign. This country can no longer afford to subsidize the prejudices of culture warriors. It's time to stop the pointless arrests and instead tax legal marijuana. Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy www.csdp.org Washington, D.C. [end]
AUGUSTA, Maine - Lawmakers from opposite ends of the political spectrum unveiled a bill Thursday that would give Mainers the chance to legalize marijuana for recreational use in a statewide referendum. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland, and co-sponsored by Rep. Aaron Libby, R-Waterboro, would make vast changes in Maine's drug law, ranging from making possession of up to 2.5 ounces of pot legal to imposing a tax of $50 per ounce. Russell and others argued during a press conference Thursday afternoon at the State House that laws against marijuana have enmeshed too many nonviolent offenders in the legal system and deprived government coffers of millions of dollars in revenue. Russell estimated that taxing and regulating marijuana could generate up to $13 million a year, three-quarters of which she proposes routing into the state's General Fund, which supports the majority of state government including public education and most social services. The rest of the revenue would pay for implementation of the law, substance abuse treatment and prevention programs, and research on the effects of marijuana. [continues 444 words]
PORTLAND, Maine - U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine is one of 13 co-sponsors of a bill that supporters say would end marijuana prohibition at the federal level. News of the proposed legislation came on the same day that a petition drive seeking to legalize pot possession began in Portland, the largest city in Pingree's home state. The effort to decriminalize marijuana at a federal level also comes as state Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland, is pursuing a bill in Augusta to do so at the state level. [continues 691 words]
Dispensing a Solution BIDDEFORD, Maine - Glenn Peterson owns a business in the lower level of a commercial condominium office complex off of busy Route 111. His work is done behind a series of securely locked doors. The only way to get in is to be buzzed in. Only if you are expected. Only if you are recognized. Inside is where Mr. Peterson, a self-described frugal farmer and artist, plies his trade. "I don't make things. I solve problems creatively," Mr. Peterson said. [continues 2495 words]
Years ago advocates for the legalization of marijuana were fond of citing the fact the marijuana was the second largest cash crop in the United States, corn being the first. Wanting to verify that, I did some checking and found that it's no longer true. Come to find out, in spite of years of government eradication efforts, marijuana is now the largest cash crop in the country, exceeding the combined value of the corn and wheat crops by $5 billion annually. [continues 731 words]
Two years ago, Sharon Gagne of Greenbush discovered she had two herniated disks in her neck. Her doctor told her surgery was not an option and instead encouraged physical therapy and prescribed a painkiller. "I didn't like that," she said. "I know too many people who got hooked." Gagne, 44, eventually asked about other options. Her doctor referred her to Dr. Dustin Sulak, an osteopath who has become known throughout Maine for his willingness to certify patients for medical marijuana. Gagne's physician sent her medical records to Sulak, who then spoke twice on the phone with Gagne. [continues 2627 words]
Laxer limits raise fears of doctor shopping and make it impossible to track the number of legitimate users Two years ago, Sharon Gagne of Greenbush discovered she had two herniated disks in her neck. Her doctor told her surgery was not an option and instead encouraged physical therapy and prescribed a painkiller. "I didn't like that," she said. "I know too many people who got hooked." Gagne, 44, eventually asked about other options. Her doctor referred her to Dr. Dustin Sulak, an osteopath who has become known throughout Maine for his willingness to certify patients for medical marijuana. Gagne's physician sent her medical records to Sulak, who then spoke twice on the phone with Gagne. [continues 2628 words]
The Maine State Housing Authority has agreed to let tenants in subsidized housing continue using and growing medical marijuana at home for another six months - and hopefully, permanently. The agency announced earlier this month that it would no longer allow people who use rental assistance to possess, use or cultivate medical marijuana in apartments where rent and utilities are federally subsidized under the program known as Section 8, according to a prepared statement from the authority, dated Oct. 3. The statement went on to say, "MaineHousing recently became aware of a few Section 8 voucher holders who use, possess or cultivate medical marijuana in their Section 8 units. These tenants have been notified about the new policy and given the opportunity to comply with it. ... Federal law prohibits illegal controlled substances such as marijuana in Section 8-subsidized housing units. In regards to medical marijuana use, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees the federal HCV program, does not allow public housing authorities such as MaineHousing to admit a medical marijuana user into the program. [continues 442 words]
Inside Maine
