SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine - Two communities, two different outcomes on votes to legalize small amounts of recreational marijuana for adults.
Voters in South Portland approved the measure 52 to 48 percent. But Lewiston defeated a similar legalization effort 45 to 55 percent.
David Boyer, Maine political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, which supported the two municipal initiatives, says South Portland voters saw through what he calls the scare tactics and misinformation.
As for Lewiston, "I guess voters there still buy into the reefer madness, 80 years of government exaggeration about the harms of marijuana," Boyer says. "And, you know, this is a mid-term election where an older, more conservative base comes out, and we're still excited about our prospects statewide in a presidential year."
The Marijuana Policy Project is planning to mount a statewide referendum effort in 2016.