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Pot Legalization Advocates Move Ahead with Signature Drive

Susan Sharon
/
MPBN
Marijuana Policy Project Political Director David Boyer with the draft initiative delivered to Maine's secretary of state.

AUGUSTA, Maine - Supporters of a second proposal to legalize recreational marijuana are moving closer to their goal of putting a citizens' initiative before Maine voters in 2016. David Boyer is the political director of the Marijuana Policy Project, which has led similar efforts to legalize pot in Colorado, Washington and Alaska.

"Today we handed in our initiative application to the secretary of state and there's a process that's going to happen over the next couple of weeks, and hopefully in about a month we'll get our petitions and we can start petition signatures," Boyer says.

Unlike a separate proposal that would allow adults age 21 and over to possess up to 2.5 ounces of pot, this one would only allow legal possession of an ounce.  It would also tax recreational marijuana at a higher rate, about 15 percent.  

David Boyer says the other big difference is that his group's initiative would regulate marijuana similar to alcohol.  The other proposal, put forth by a group called Legalize Maine, would treat and regulate it as an agricultural product.  Both measures allow adults to also grow a small amount of pot at home for themselves.

Scott Gagnon, director of the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, says he and others remain concerned about the effect of both initiatives on youth. 

He says some surveys show an increase in usage among teens in Colorado, where marijuana has been legalized.  Gagnon says there's been a 300 percent increase in children under five being exposed to marijuana, mostly by ingesting edibles.