Pubdate: Wed, 11 Sep 2013
Source: Portland Press Herald (ME)
Copyright: 2013 MaineToday Media, Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/J9R991Zc
Website: http://www.pressherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/744
Author: Keven Miller

NATIONAL GROUP WANTS MAINE TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

The Vote May Come in 2016 As Advocates Try to Get New England States 
to Allow Recreational Use.

WASHINGTON - Bolstered by political victories out West, a marijuana 
advocacy group is now looking at Maine and other New England states 
as fertile ground for its next major push to legalize a drug that's 
gaining wider acceptance from the American public.

The Marijuana Policy Project plans to pursue ballot initiatives or 
legislative efforts in 10 states to legalize pot for recreational use 
by essentially regulating it like alcohol or tobacco. Four of those 
states are in New England: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island.

In some ways, the proponents of legalized marijuana appear to be 
following the political path of the gay-rights community. Four of the 
first six states to legally recognize same-sex marriage were in New 
England, and the region's other two states have since followed.

"In New England, there is a sensibility among voters when it comes to 
marijuana issues," said Mason Tvert, national spokesman for the 
Marijuana Policy Project, which bills itself as the nation's largest 
marijuana policy organization.

The organization plans to pursue ballot initiatives in five states, 
including Maine, and legislation in the other five. David Boyer, 
Maine political director for the organization, said it is aiming for 
the 2016 election to capture the largest possible voting pool -- 
especially younger voters.

"We want to make sure those voters are (represented), and they are 
more likely to participate in a presidential election than an off 
year," Boyer said.

In a recent automated telephone poll of Maine voters by Public Policy 
Polling, 48 percent of respondents supported legalization and 39 
percent opposed it. Senior citizens were the only age group that 
opposed legalization.

The legalization of marijuana has been debated for decades. The 
political push gained significant traction last fall when residents 
of Colorado and Washington voted to allow recreational use.

Those votes followed other major policy shifts in recent years. 
Twenty states and the District of Columbia now allow medicinal use of 
marijuana, and 16 states have downgraded possession of small amounts 
of the drug from a criminal offense to a civil offense, often 
compared to a traffic ticket. The drug remains illegal under federal law.

Maine legalized medical marijuana in 1999 and significantly expanded 
the program a decade later. Today, the state has a tightly regulated 
system of medical marijuana dispensaries and growers.

A bill in the Legislature that would have allowed Maine voters to 
decide whether to legalize pot for recreational use fell four votes 
short of passage in the House earlier this year.

In Maine and other states, concerns remain about whether federal law 
enforcement officials would try to intervene in policing of 
marijuana. A memo last month from the U.S. Department of Justice 
addressed some of those concerns and emboldened advocates of legalization.

The memo indicated that the department would not seek to block 
implementation of the voter-approved laws allowing recreational use 
in Washington and Colorado.

The department said federal authorities would intervene only in eight 
specific circumstances, including cases when pot is distributed or 
marketed to minors, is trafficked across state lines to states where 
marijuana is illegal, or when sellers are linked to drug cartels or 
other criminal organizations.

On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a first-ever hearing 
on the potential conflict between state and federal marijuana laws. 
Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., asked Deputy Attorney 
General James Cole whether the Department of Justice's Aug. 29 memo 
indicated -- as some have suggested -- that the department is 
"abdicating" its responsibility in enforcing drug laws.

Cole said his office would take seriously any violations of the eight 
criteria outlined in the memo, regardless of whether the state has 
legalized marijuana.

"We are not giving immunity," Cole said. "We are not giving a free 
pass. We are not abdicating our responsibility. We are dedicating 
ourselves to enforcing the Controlled Substances Act in regard to 
marijuana when it (violates) those federal priorities."

Beau Kilmer, co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center in 
California, said the memo is likely to influence the conversation on 
legalization, but states have a wide range of options between 
prohibition of marijuana and commercial enterprises selling legal pot 
for maximum profit.

He also noted that federal policies on marijuana can change with 
administrations. So while Kilmer expects to hear more discussion in 
other states, he isn't ready to predict a groundswell of efforts to 
legalize the drug for recreational use.

"A lot depends on the federal response," Kilmer said. "And it will be 
interesting to see what happens in the next administration."

In Maine, the Marijuana Policy Project has ramped up its early 
campaign by distributing information at events such as the Maine 
Lobster Festival in Rockland, the Yarmouth Clam Festival and a recent 
beer festival in Portland. Signature-gathering for the ballot cannot 
begin for some time, under Maine law.

Major ballot initiative campaigns aren't cheap in Maine. Boyer and 
Tvert said they expect donations to come from both Mainers and 
residents of other states who support the cause.

"Marijuana Policy Project is definitely prepared to spend what it 
needs to to make sure it does pass," Boyer said. "I can safely say 
that it will be in six figures."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom