Editor, Colorado Re-legalized cannabis (marijuana) over a year ago and the sky hasn't fallen. Maine citizens will witness the same in Portland (City Officials Say Discretion Will Play Major Role in Marijuana Enforcement, Dec. 6, 2013) and legalize the God-given plant throughout the state. It's not a matter of if but rather when. Further, Police Chief Michael Sauschuck is mistaken, the federal government erroneously labels cannabis a Schedule I substance alongside heroin while cocaine and meth are only Schedule II substances. For credibility, Congress should reschedule cannabis immediately. Truthfully, Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Just as the city's ordinance that legalizes the possession and use of a small quantity of marijuana takes effect, a local group is taking steps to educate kids about the use of the substance. The 21 Reasons coalition will distribute a pamphlet produced by the National Institutes of Health - "Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know" - in all of Portland's high and middle schools to counter kids' perceptions of marijuana use in light of the new ordinance that was passed in November, according to a press release. [continues 165 words]
Leading by example is one of the top three "to-do's," in almost every parenting survival guide. We all know it, but the expression, "Do as I say, not as I do," has gone through the minds (if not the mouths) of every parent who ever existed. We've all had those minor moments where we profess social/moral/ethical correctness but, because we're human, may occasionally exhibit behavior otherwise. Saying but not always doing things like: "Buckle up. You'll get a ticket"; "Turn off those lights, we're not the sole supporters of CMP"; "Where's your coat? It's the arctic north out there." [continues 948 words]
Discretion. That's what city officials say is the key component of how Portland's new marijuana ordinance will be enforced in light of state and federal laws still being in play. The Portland Green Independent Committee hosted a forum on the city's new legalization ordinance on Thursday, as the new city law will take effect today (Friday). Tom MacMillan, chairman of the Portland Green Independent Committee, said the forum was designed to educate the public about the ordinance and how it will be enforced by the Portland Police Department. [continues 560 words]
Portland became the first city on the East Coast to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, on Tuesday. Portland voters approved a citizens referendum that legalized the recreational use of marijuana in city limits by a vote of 9,921 to 4,823, according to unofficial results released by the city clerk Tuesday night. "Most Portlanders, like most Americans, are fed up with our nation's failed marijuana prohibition laws," said David Boyer, the Maine political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, in a statement. "We applaud Portland voters for adopting a smarter marijuana policy, and we look forward to working with city officials to ensure it is implemented." The ordinance will allow adults, who are at least 21 years old, to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and requisite paraphernalia for recreational use. While people can use marijuana on their personal property, the language bars them from using it on any public infrastructure, including sidewalks, parks and roadways; but landlords and building owners can opt to bar smoking on their property. [continues 448 words]
Proponents of the marijuana legalization effort in Portland said Tuesday's ballot initiative is the first step toward Maine dropping its prohibition on the substance. Portland voters on Tuesday will decide on whether to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults over 21 years of age, and proponents of the measure say it's a first step toward a wider acceptance of marijuana use in Maine. "We believe this is the next step toward moving away from prohibition," said Maine Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland, and a step toward enacting statewide legislation that would tax and regulate legalized marijuana in Maine [continues 214 words]
An effort to legalize marijuana in Portland is on the move - literally. The Marijuana Policy Project, one of the groups involved in the Yes on Question 1 campaign, rolled out a series of advertisements placed on four METRO buses and two bus shelters on Wednesday. The ads are aimed at the promoting marijuana as a safer alternative to alcohol and attempt to de-stigmatize people who us it. "Americans realized the prohibition on alcohol failed," said David Boyer, the MPP's Maine political director. "The same can be said for marijuana prohibition." [continues 411 words]
Maine residents suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder will soon be allowed to treat their symptoms with medical marijuana if their doctors recommend it, an advocacy group reported Wednesday. A bill adding PTSD to the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana, LD 1062, became law Tuesday without the governor's signature, according to the Marijuana Policy Project. A similar measure was signed into law earlier this month in Oregon, and medical marijuana is currently allowed in the treatment of PTSD in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts and New Mexico, the group reported. [continues 122 words]
The City Council is ready to hear what Portland residents have to say about an effort to decriminalize marijuana in the city. The council set a public hearing for a proposed ordinance that aims to decriminalize recreational marijuana use in Portland, after receiving a petition to put the question to a referendum. The hearing, which is set for July 15, will collect input on the proposed ordinance that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults who are 21 years of age or older. The Citizens for a Safer Portland Coalition attained 2,508 valid signatures through a petition drive to get the question on the ballot so Portland voters can decide on decriminalization. [continues 319 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]
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]
When proponents and users of medical marijuana gathered in Deering Oaks Park Saturday for the Atlantic CannaFest medical cannabis festival, it wasn't the last word in Maine or the Northeast about a form of medicine that advocates say is gaining acceptance. "It's such a big change in just the past few years even, seeing the wide mix of people openly talking about this and not being afraid of a plant, the communication; more and more people are growing and seeing the actual therapeutic benefits," said Hillary Lister, an advocate for medical marijuana use through Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine, a trade association. [continues 630 words]
The organizer of a Portland event billed as a benefit for low-income and terminal medical marijuana patients will still be required to pay city fees, in spite of an expectation of a First Amendment exemption deferring these fees, officials confirmed Wednesday. Dismayed, the organizer vowed Wednesday to forge ahead with the festival, saying it's too late to call off the live music, speakers and food offerings. Atlantic CannaFEST, an event informing the public about Maine's medical marijuana program, remains scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 1, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Deering Oaks Park. [continues 889 words]
There was a time when it didn't look like enough donors would step forward for Charlie Wynott to meet the city's financial requirements to use Deering Oaks Park for Saturday's Atlantic CannaFEST. The educational medical marijuana event is being run on a shoestring budget. "They were asking for a deposit and insurance and whatnot," Wynott recalled. Then, inspiration struck. "We were actually given the idea through Occupy Maine for the free speech and right to occupy public space amendment to the city code," said the patient and founder of the organization, Atlantic Cannabis, a nonprofit that helps low income and terminal patients to access medical marijuana. [continues 353 words]
Over a year ago, Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland, raised eyebrows when she proposed legislation legalizing marijuana. Today, Russell -- who's up for re-election in District 120, which includes part of Munjoy Hill -- says she has reintroduced her bill, LD 1453, with hopes of shepherding it through the Maine Legislature in the next session. Russell, whose "Act to Legalize and Tax Marijuana" failed in 2011, is expected to restoke the legalization debate in 2013. She advocates legalization as a way to rechannel public resources now used to prosecute marijuana users. [continues 804 words]
A legislator who championed amendments to Maine's medical marijuana law as a way to bring it in line with voter intent said she hopes the state doesn't make the same mistakes again. After a public hearing Monday on a controversial rule making that's now underway, Rep. Deb Sanderson, R-Chelsea, said the state should not implement rules that are more restrictive and divergent from the intent of the citizen's initiative legalizing medical marijuana passed in 2009. "Hopefully the department will take into serious consideration much of the compelling testimony that was put before them," Sanderson said Tuesday, a day after a hearing in Augusta where a crowd testified about proposed rules regulating medical marijuana. [continues 614 words]
President Obama tried again to do the right thing and let states alone to regulate and enforce medical marijuana laws, keeping federal law in place in case they're needed to clean up any danger to the industry. For now it looks like the plan is mostly working. California and Colorado have become perps for federal agents to clean out. I'm a liberal Libertarian and proud of our President and his staff, for in a conservative way are successfully being pro-active before people making too much money get more greedy. I have a license, if you will, to purchase legal marijuana when presenting my recommendation for prescription is up to date. I'm 59 years old and have been buying illegal dope with what-all in it from bikers and poor folk and street vendors, sharing between friends. [continues 387 words]
I've written about the medical marijuana issue several times, even spoken before the city council on the issue of clinic location. This week's news that Rebecca DeKeuster of Northeast Patient Group being the target of a lawsuit by her former employer could not have come at a worse time for the proposed Portland clinic. As usual, timing is everything. Looking over the initial application with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services for the proposed clinic, you could be initially wowed by the "sunshine and unicorns" factor. There are even budget projections based on the clinics first partial year of operations, dated July of LAST year to June of this year. [continues 707 words]
Northeast Patients Group, which holds permits to open medical marijuana dispensaries in Portland, Bangor and elsewhere in Maine, is being sued by its former financial backer in California. In court filings, Berkeley Patients Group alleges Augusta-based Northeast Patients Group failed to pay back more than $630,000 in loans used for salaries and start-up funds during the successful 2010 permitting process. Northeast's chief executive Becky DeKeuster is also named in the lawsuit, which was filed July 6 in Cumberland County Superior Court. DeKeuster, who severed ties with Berkeley in February, is accused of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and disclosing trade secrets to a competitor. She declined to be interviewed yesterday. [continues 744 words]
Sensible Portland, the group behind a citizen-petition to make marijuana enforcement the lowest priority for city police, says it has gathered enough signatures to put the initiative on the November ballot. In a Monument Square press conference yesterday, the group's leadership said they are hoping the proposal will spur "an adult conversation" about marijuana policy that could spread well beyond city limits. "To be clear, we hope that this measure is a step toward the eventual end of prohibition of marijuana in this country," said John Eder, a spokesman for Sensible Portland and a former Green Party state representative. "This local ordinance isn't a small thing. [continues 759 words]
