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.

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