Marijuana Legalization Wins in Maine

Noelle Skodzinski

Maine voters voiced their support for marijuana legalization by passing Ballot Question 1 -- a citizen initiative that legalizes adult use of marijuana and establishes a framework for regulating marijuana like alcohol in the state – according to the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. (However, as of 6:06 a.m. Wednesday, the Associated Press said the results were too close to call. The official 2016 state election results could not be found on the Department of the Secretary of State Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions.)


“Maine made history today by ending the failed policy of marijuana prohibition. Voters approved Question 1 because it represents a new, more sensible approach to marijuana policy,” said David Boyer, campaign manager for the Yes on 1 campaign and Maine political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, in a statement. “It will take marijuana production and sales out of the underground market. It will generate significant new tax revenue for our community. And it will allow law enforcement to spend more time addressing serious crimes,” Boyer continued.

“For the past few years, we have highlighted the fact that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol and questioned the logic of laws that steer adults toward the more dangerous substance. Once Question 1 goes into effect, adults in Maine will no longer be punished for making the rational, safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol, if that is what they prefer,” he said. “Our state’s laws are finally going to be based on the facts, rather than on the fear mongering and propaganda that produced marijuana prohibition.”

"The impact of Maine's decision won’t be limited to its own borders,” said Tom Angell, Chairman, Marijuana Majority, in a statement. "Lawmakers elsewhere in New England and other parts of the country are ready to move ahead, and now they have a reason to move a lot more quickly.

Maine voters just gave their state a leg up on reaping the job creation and tax revenue benefits of an emerging new industry that will soon spread throughout the region."

Question 1, regarding what is titled “Marijuana Legalization Act,” legalizes possession of a limited amount of marijuana by adults age 21 and older, and allows for adults to grow a limited number of marijuana plants in their homes for personal use. It also calls for establishing a regulated system of licensed marijuana retail, cultivation, processing and testing businesses under a tightly controlled set of rules.

Under the Marijuana Legalization Act, a 10-percent tax will be imposed on adult use sales. Medical marijuana sales, which have been legal in Maine since 1999 via state licensed dispensaries, will not incur the sales tax. Social clubs will be permitted (with a license from the state licensing authority).

While the state licensing authority -- the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) -- may not limit the total number of retail marijuana stores in the state, “municipalities may regulate the number of retail marijuana stores and the location and operation of retail marijuana establishments and retail marijuana social clubs and may prohibit the operation of retail marijuana establishments and retail marijuana social clubs within its jurisdiction,” according to the Act’s full text.

Under the new law, retail marijuana cultivation facilities are limited to 800,000 square feet of plant canopy, unless the DACF determines that a greater amount may be needed to meet demand.

Two types of cultivation licenses will be available: those with 3,000 square feet or less of plant canopy and those with more than 3,000 square feet of plant canopy. As the Act’s text explains, “The state licensing authority shall license marijuana cultivation at retail marijuana cultivation facilities by unit blocks of 10 feet by 10 feet, or 100 square feet, of plant canopy, with 40% of all licenses issued going to licensees of 30 unit blocks or less.”

Cultivators will need to plan for ramping up to more than 50 percent capacity of their unit blocks by the end of the first year of operation; if a licensed cultivation facility is using 50 percent or less of its authorized unit blocks at that time, the DACF may reduce the number of unit blocks the facility is authorized to use.

Cultivators will be eligible to apply for retail licenses if the retail store will be located on the premises of the licensed cultivation facility.

The DACF will be tasked with developing regulations and implementing an independent testing and certification program. “Testing must include, but is not limited to, analysis for residual solvents, poisons and toxins; harmful chemicals; dangerous molds and mildew; harmful microbes, such as Escherichia coli and salmonella; and pesticides,” the Act’s text states. Testing must also verify THC (the principal psychoactive compound in marijuana) potency.

The initiative is projected to generate potential market sales of $196.3 million, according to New Frontier Data and Arcview Market Research.