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Portland Voters Approve Marijuana Legalization

November 9th

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.

The ordinance will be enacted 30 days after the election results are certified by the city clerk, according to the city code, and c. . . . . READ MORE

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High Hopes for Legalizing Marijuana in Maine

October 14th

Melissa Thomas is a 38-year-old interior designer for a local paint company. She has a 5-year-old son, and she is engaged to be married. She shows up to work on time, and belongs to a book club and mothers groups. She pays her bills and is closing on the purchase of a house in South Portland next month. And like an increasing number of Americans, she likes to smoke marijuana – not for its medical benefits but because she enjoys it.

“Alcohol makes me sleepy,” said Thomas, a well-dressed, well-spoken woman with long curly hair and an engaging smile. “Marijuana does the opposite – it tends to kick-start me, especially creatively.”

Thomas believes she uses marijuana responsibly, limiting her use to the occasional weeknight or weekend. She says she doesn’t drive after smoking and never uses marijuana around her son or before going to work. She firmly believes that children and teenagers, whose brains are still developing, should never use the drug.

But, she says, marijuana use by a responsible adult should be legal. And she is fa. . . . . READ MORE

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Pro-Marijuana Ads on Portland Buses Draw Fire

October 3rd

Groups that fight substance abuse want to snuff out ads on Portland area buses and bus shelters that promote a ballot question seeking to legalize recreational marijuana use. The Marijuana Policy Project unveiled ads Wednesday that appear on four public transit buses and in two bus shelters.

The campaign features six ads, each with a photo of an adult explaining why he or she prefers marijuana over alcohol and asking why they should be punished for making the choice. Portland residents will vote in November on whether to make it legal for adults 21 and older to possess up to 2 1/2 ounces of pot. The law would prohibit using marijuana in public, and would not legalize its sale.

A community group called 21 Reasons said it has asked the Greater Portland Transit District to pull the ads, said Kate Perkins, a co-founder of the group, which is committed to keeping youth alcohol- and drug-free.She said the ads endorse marijuana and are a bad idea because a large proportion of bus riders are children.

“There are plenty of places where th. . . . . READ MORE

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MJ Legalization Considered in Maine, DC, Calif.

July 16th

Advocates of marijuana legalization have seen an acceleration of their cause in recent years, particularly after residents of Washington state and Colorado voted to legalize recreational cannabis in November’s elections. Now, more jurisdictions are taking up, or at least considering taking up the issue.

In Maine Monday, Portland City Council planned a public hearing to discuss a citizen-proposed measure legalizing possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana for those 21 and older. After the meeting, the city council will decide whether to adopt the measure, send a referendum to voters or write an alternative proposal alongside the citizen measure.

Proponents gathered more than twice the 1,500 signatures required to get the proposal, which would prohibit smoking pot in public spaces such as schools or public parks, and allow landlords to prohibit it in their apartments, on this year’s ballot.

Maine law allows medical marijuana, and has already decriminalized its use, but possession of a small amount still carries a maximum fine of $600. A state-wide referendum on legalization is expected in 2014.

In the nation. . . . . READ MORE

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Some Dispensaries Not Too Thrilled By Legal Pot

May 8th

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.

“I tend to be libertarian,” he said.  “On the other hand, I am quite protective of my dispensary.”

Paul McCarrier, a lobbyist for Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine, an advocacy group for state-licensed caregivers who grow marijuana for small groups of medical patients, said his group is opposing the bill.  McCarrier said it would favor dispensaries through licensing requirements, which could regulate small-time growers out of existence.

“The scope of protections for the individual to cultivate for themselves is too limited,” he said.

The head of a national group that has supported the. . . . . READ MORE

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