PORTLAND, Maine - Nineteen Maine communities will share a $7.5 million grant to combat opiod abuse for the next five years. Acting Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Michael Botticelli visited Maine Wednesday and Thursday to announce the grant and discuss substance abuse issues.
Botticelli says he's concerned about local efforts to legalize marijuana. "Quite honestly I don't think the public has been getting really good information on the health harms associated with marijuana," he said. "We have more youth in the United States smoking marijuana than tobacco."
Botticelli says that the Obama administration wants to move people away from the criminal justice system as much as possible, but legalizing marijuana is not the answer.
