Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
York County - Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap has announced the order in which five citizens' referendum questions will be laid out for the November general election ballot, and Question 1 will ask Mainers if they want to legalize recreational use of marijuana.
For some York County officials and community members, the pending vote brings a mixture of anxiety, anticipation and more questions.
In an area where several communities, including Biddeford and Sanford, have moratoriums in place on growing facilities for medical marijuana caregivers, officials are scrambling to devise plans for November should the referendum pass.
"I don't know what we're going to be able to do," said Biddeford City Manager Jim Bennett. "We'll end up having to do some research, just because I haven't looked at the wording of the question, and I haven't had any dialogue with anybody from a legal perceptive and whether that totally wipes out the language (of a citywide moratorium on caregiving facilities)."
Question 1, "An Act To Legalize Marijuana," asks Maine residents: "Do you want to allow the possession and use of marijuana under state law by persons who are at least 21 years of age, and allow the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale of marijuana and marijuana products subject to state regulation, taxation and local ordinance?"
The final wording for the referendum questions was announced last week. Dunlap said in a press release that the order of questions was determined through a random drawing.
The referendum follows the passage of similar referenda in Colorado and Washington state in 2012.
Biddeford has been under a six-month moratorium for new marijuana dispensaries and growing facilities since April to give the city time to figure out how to best regulate growing facilities.
Bennett said he would have no idea until further examination into the language of the referendum about where marijuana could be carried, sold and smoked legally or publicly.
"I haven't looked at the language, and I've had no discussions with any of my colleagues or my attorneys about what those implications are," Bennett said.
Sanford's moratorium on caregiver growing facilities was extended for six months in January. City officials are expected to vote on ordinances pertaining to the establishment of new facilities in mid-July.
The moratorium was initially put in place for city officials to decide how to handle increased electricity use from growing facilities, and to determine best practices for ensuring proper security and ventilation with those new facilities.
Sanford Deputy Mayor Maura Herlihy said one of the growers' main concerns with increased regulation is possible contamination during inspections.
"Any particle that comes into a room can affect the quality of the plants, such as something on your clothes you didn't know was there," Herlihy said.
When asked about how marijuana would be regulated in Sanford for public use, including smoking, Herlihy said it has been included with tobacco regulation on a state level.
"It's been lumped in with tobacco by state law, and if the state law covers it, the city is unlikely to change anything. We do not allow smoking in public parks," Herlihy said. "Anywhere you can't smoke — and that includes within 25 feet of any business and probably residence — you cannot smoke marijuana."
For some medical marijuana caregivers, legalizing and regulating the drug is the right move, as it will allow for greater public transparency and safety.
"The existing medical marijuana law has been touted as one of the best in the country for safe access for patients. It's a good law, but the only problem is it's basic," said Brett Messer, general manager of Brigid Farm in Saco, a medical marijuana growing facility. "It was put in place a long time ago. It lacks direction, and sometimes you're left asking yourself, 'Where do I go with this? How do I comply to the best of my ability?'"
Messer said the new legislation would give a considerable amount of direction for business owners to make the public more aware of the products they are purchasing.
As an example, Messer said, the law includes regulations on packaging, which would have to be opaque and child-resistant, and display a considerable amount of laboratory-tested information such as the quantity of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana.
Messer said the new legislation would also allow for more commercial opportunities for existing caregivers. He said the legislation is unique, because it stems from a local, organic approach.
"Preference is given to existing caregivers and dispensary offices to obtain permits," Messer said.
Should the legislation pass, Messer said he would begin growing commercially, potentially by keeping his medical facility in operation while building another facility for commercial operations, or by modifying he existing facility and running the two from the same building.
David Boyer, Maine political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, who is also working with the Yes on 1 Campaign, said the proposed legislation would benefit caregivers as well as the entire state.
"It would create hundreds of jobs and expand jobs that are already here in the medical marijuana program. It would raise tax revenue from those jobs to go to the state. There's lots of ancillary businesses that benefit from regulating marijuana," Boyer said.
If the referendum passes, Boyer said, it will create job opportunities for accountants, Realtors, lawyers, retail entrepreneurs and laboratories .
Boyer also said that passing Question 1 would make the marijuana trade safer.
"We're limiting law-abiding citizens' interactions with the black market and letting our law enforcement deal with more serious crimes," he said. "We can actually start testing and researching marijuana and labeling marijuana so consumers know what kind of marijuana they're getting. People will benefit from knowing that the kind of weed they get is safe."
Boyer believes legalizing marijuana and regulating it as an over-the-counter product would also help with Maine's opioid epidemic, as marijuana could be used as a nonaddictive pain reliever.
"(Marijuana is) less dangerous than some of the medicine that's been prescribed to folks. This (current) opioid crisis is because of people using opioids for pain management and getting hooked," Boyer said. "We think this could actually curb that crisis, and we definitely don't think it'll make it worse like our opponents would like to say."
Both Messer and Boyer are confident the referendum will pass, citing recent polls that indicate 55 percent support from voters.
"We're cautiously optimistic that Mainers will pass Question 1," Boyer said.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: What Happens If Marijuana Referendum Passes?
Author: Alan Bennett
Contact: (207) 282-1535
Photo Credit: Ted S. Warren
Website: Journal Tribune
For some York County officials and community members, the pending vote brings a mixture of anxiety, anticipation and more questions.
In an area where several communities, including Biddeford and Sanford, have moratoriums in place on growing facilities for medical marijuana caregivers, officials are scrambling to devise plans for November should the referendum pass.
"I don't know what we're going to be able to do," said Biddeford City Manager Jim Bennett. "We'll end up having to do some research, just because I haven't looked at the wording of the question, and I haven't had any dialogue with anybody from a legal perceptive and whether that totally wipes out the language (of a citywide moratorium on caregiving facilities)."
Question 1, "An Act To Legalize Marijuana," asks Maine residents: "Do you want to allow the possession and use of marijuana under state law by persons who are at least 21 years of age, and allow the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale of marijuana and marijuana products subject to state regulation, taxation and local ordinance?"
The final wording for the referendum questions was announced last week. Dunlap said in a press release that the order of questions was determined through a random drawing.
The referendum follows the passage of similar referenda in Colorado and Washington state in 2012.
Biddeford has been under a six-month moratorium for new marijuana dispensaries and growing facilities since April to give the city time to figure out how to best regulate growing facilities.
Bennett said he would have no idea until further examination into the language of the referendum about where marijuana could be carried, sold and smoked legally or publicly.
"I haven't looked at the language, and I've had no discussions with any of my colleagues or my attorneys about what those implications are," Bennett said.
Sanford's moratorium on caregiver growing facilities was extended for six months in January. City officials are expected to vote on ordinances pertaining to the establishment of new facilities in mid-July.
The moratorium was initially put in place for city officials to decide how to handle increased electricity use from growing facilities, and to determine best practices for ensuring proper security and ventilation with those new facilities.
Sanford Deputy Mayor Maura Herlihy said one of the growers' main concerns with increased regulation is possible contamination during inspections.
"Any particle that comes into a room can affect the quality of the plants, such as something on your clothes you didn't know was there," Herlihy said.
When asked about how marijuana would be regulated in Sanford for public use, including smoking, Herlihy said it has been included with tobacco regulation on a state level.
"It's been lumped in with tobacco by state law, and if the state law covers it, the city is unlikely to change anything. We do not allow smoking in public parks," Herlihy said. "Anywhere you can't smoke — and that includes within 25 feet of any business and probably residence — you cannot smoke marijuana."
For some medical marijuana caregivers, legalizing and regulating the drug is the right move, as it will allow for greater public transparency and safety.
"The existing medical marijuana law has been touted as one of the best in the country for safe access for patients. It's a good law, but the only problem is it's basic," said Brett Messer, general manager of Brigid Farm in Saco, a medical marijuana growing facility. "It was put in place a long time ago. It lacks direction, and sometimes you're left asking yourself, 'Where do I go with this? How do I comply to the best of my ability?'"
Messer said the new legislation would give a considerable amount of direction for business owners to make the public more aware of the products they are purchasing.
As an example, Messer said, the law includes regulations on packaging, which would have to be opaque and child-resistant, and display a considerable amount of laboratory-tested information such as the quantity of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana.
Messer said the new legislation would also allow for more commercial opportunities for existing caregivers. He said the legislation is unique, because it stems from a local, organic approach.
"Preference is given to existing caregivers and dispensary offices to obtain permits," Messer said.
Should the legislation pass, Messer said he would begin growing commercially, potentially by keeping his medical facility in operation while building another facility for commercial operations, or by modifying he existing facility and running the two from the same building.
David Boyer, Maine political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, who is also working with the Yes on 1 Campaign, said the proposed legislation would benefit caregivers as well as the entire state.
"It would create hundreds of jobs and expand jobs that are already here in the medical marijuana program. It would raise tax revenue from those jobs to go to the state. There's lots of ancillary businesses that benefit from regulating marijuana," Boyer said.
If the referendum passes, Boyer said, it will create job opportunities for accountants, Realtors, lawyers, retail entrepreneurs and laboratories .
Boyer also said that passing Question 1 would make the marijuana trade safer.
"We're limiting law-abiding citizens' interactions with the black market and letting our law enforcement deal with more serious crimes," he said. "We can actually start testing and researching marijuana and labeling marijuana so consumers know what kind of marijuana they're getting. People will benefit from knowing that the kind of weed they get is safe."
Boyer believes legalizing marijuana and regulating it as an over-the-counter product would also help with Maine's opioid epidemic, as marijuana could be used as a nonaddictive pain reliever.
"(Marijuana is) less dangerous than some of the medicine that's been prescribed to folks. This (current) opioid crisis is because of people using opioids for pain management and getting hooked," Boyer said. "We think this could actually curb that crisis, and we definitely don't think it'll make it worse like our opponents would like to say."
Both Messer and Boyer are confident the referendum will pass, citing recent polls that indicate 55 percent support from voters.
"We're cautiously optimistic that Mainers will pass Question 1," Boyer said.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: What Happens If Marijuana Referendum Passes?
Author: Alan Bennett
Contact: (207) 282-1535
Photo Credit: Ted S. Warren
Website: Journal Tribune
