Maine Marijuana Initiative Set For November Ballot
Our buds over at the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol will submit its petition in support of a ballot initiative to end marijuana prohibition to state officials in Maine today. The campaign collected 103,115 total signatures from more than 400 Maine towns. It only needs a minimum of 61,123 valid signatures of registered Maine voters to qualify for the November ballot.
State Rep. Diane Russell will join the campaign for a news conference at 10 a.m. ET in front of its headquarters in Falmouth. The campaign will then deliver the petitions to the Secretary of State in Augusta at approximately 12-1 p.m. ET
“Over the past eight months, we’ve talked to more than 100,000 voters across the state, from Kittery to Caribou,” said campaign manager David Boyer. “Most Mainers agree it is time to end the failed policy of marijuana prohibition, and they will have the opportunity to do it this November.”
The proposed initiative would allow adults 21 years of age and older to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and grow a limited number of marijuana plants in their homes. It would also establish the framework for a tightly regulated system of licensed marijuana retail stores, cultivation facilities, product-manufacturing facilities, and testing facilities, and it would create rules governing the cultivation, testing, transportation, and sale of marijuana. The initiative would enact a 10% tax on marijuana sales.
“This initiative will replace the underground marijuana market with a tightly controlled system of legitimate, taxpaying businesses that create good jobs for Maine residents,” Boyer said. “It will also make Maine safer by allowing enforcement officials to spend more time addressing serious crimes instead of enforcing failed marijuana prohibition laws.”
WHAT: News conference and submission of petitions in support of the initiative to regulate marijuana like alcohol in Maine
WHEN: Monday, February 1, news conference at 10 a.m. ET; petitions will be delivered to the Maine Bureau of Corporations, Elections, and Commissions at approximately 12-1 p.m. ET
WHERE: News conference at CRMLA headquarters, 183 U.S. Route 1 (around back of the building), Falmouth; petitions will then be delivered to the Maine Bureau of Corporations, Elections, and Commissions, Burton Cross Building, 111 Sewall Street, 4th Floor, Augusta
WHO: State Rep. Diane Russell, David Boyer, campaign manager and Campaign volunteers
For more information about the Maine marijuana initiative to end pot prohibition visit RegulateMaine.org
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