Maine Initiative To Roll Back Marijuana Legalization Is ‘Really Dumb,’ GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Says

A Republican gubernatorial candidate in Maine is imploring voters not to
sign a petition to put a “really dumb” initiative on next year’s ballot
that would roll back the state’s adult-use marijuana legalization law.

The measure, if approved, would also revise the regulatory structure of the
medical cannabis program by imposing product testing requirements.

“It’s dumb. It’s a dumb idea. Let’s focus on the things that really
matter—the things that are going to make Maine a better place,” David
Jones, a real estate executive who previously ran for governor in 2006,
said.

“Give law enforcement the opportunity to enforce the laws. Get rid of these
illegal Chinese grows,” he said. “There’s tens of thousands of people who
use cannabis. There’s people who invest their life savings [to enter the
market]. This is an industry that generates over a half a billion dollars a
year.”

‘I think we just have to focus on the things that make sense. And this, I’m
sorry, just does not make sense,” Jones said. “So please do not sign that
petition. It doesn’t make any sense. Stand with me on this, and let’s do
what we can to make Maine great again.”

The proposal that officials cleared for signature gathering earlier this
month—“An Act to Amend the Cannabis Legalization Act and the Maine Medical
Use of Cannabis Act”—is a revised version of a marijuana initiative filed
in September that was backed by a Republican state senator and a former top
staffer to then-Gov. Paul LePage (R), a staunch prohibitionist.

If the latest measure makes the ballot and gets approved, it would remove
and amend multiple sections of current state statute—aimed at effectively
repealing the legalization of recreational marijuana sales that voters
passed in 2016.

Possession of up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis by adults 21 and older would
remain legal under the proposal, but a section of the law permitting home
cultivation would be repealed. Medical marijuana sales and home cultivation
would remain legal.

Madison Carey, who was listed as the chief petitioner of the original
version of the repeal initiative and remains involved in the current
campaign, told Marijuana Moment last week that “there needs to be
regulations on marijuana,” arguing that her experience recovering from an
opioid misuse disorder speaks to the insufficiency of current law.

“My hope is to just bring awareness to the reality of the potential dangers
of not having regulations,” she said. “I think people are fed up with the
constant use—the constant [retail businesses] coming up where people can
now legally purchase marijuana.”

Of course, repealing the voter-approved law that enacted a system of
licensed adult-use sales would eliminate the current regulatory
infrastructure that’s in place, which reform advocates argue helps mitigate
the public health and safety risks associated with the illicit market.

Rep. David Boyer (R), who led the fight to pass the cannabis legalization
initiative on Maine’s ballot in 2016 when he was a staffer for the
Marijuana Policy Project, said voters should refuse to sign petitions for
the new initiative.

“Don’t sign away Maine’s progress—decline to sign this misguided repeal
initiative,” he told Marijuana Moment last week. “Repealing cannabis
legalization would shutter an industry bigger than lobsters, potatoes and
blueberries put together, costing jobs, revenue and economic growth for our
state.”

Under the new measure, the director of the Office of Cannabis Policy would
face a mandate to “promote the health and well-being of the people of the
state and advance policies that protect public health and safety,
emphasizing the health and well-being of minors, as priority considerations
in performing all duties.”

They would also have to “ensure that qualifying patients maintain access to
high-quality, effective and affordable cannabis for medical use under this
Act.”

Under the proposal, the Department of Administrative and Financial Services
would be required to create a testing program for cannabis products,
requiring dispensaries and caregivers to submit such products to a licensed
facility for a safety assessment before they’re distributed to qualified
patients.

The testing facility would need to “ensure that the cannabis or cannabis
product does not exceed the maximum level of allowable contamination for
any contaminant that is injurious to health and for which testing is
required and to ensure correct labeling.”

“The department shall adopt rules establishing a testing program pursuant
to this section, rules identifying the types of contaminants that are
injurious to health for which cannabis and cannabis products must be tested
under this chapter and rules regarding the maximum level of allowable
contamination for each contaminant,” the ballot initiative text states.

Further, regulators would need to administer a system for tracking cannabis
plants from seedings to the point of retail sale or disposal. That system
would have to “allow for cannabis plants at the stage of cultivation and
upon transfer from the stage of cultivation to another registrant to be
tracked by group.”

Activists must submit at least 67,682 valid voter signatures by February 2,
2026 in order to qualify for next year’s ballot. If approved by voters, the
initiative would take effect beginning on January 1, 2028.


*— Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon
supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps,
charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.*


*Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on
Patreon to get access. —*

Maine legislators in June rejected a bill to legalize possession of up to
one ounce of psilocybin by adults 21 and older.

That followed a separate effort in the state last year to legalize
psilocybin and allow adults to access the psychedelic at state-licensed
facilities. But lawmakers watered down that bill—amending it to create a
commission to further explore the reform instead—and it ultimately did not
pass.

Meanwhile, Maine lawmakers in February voted to investigate possible
conflicts of interest by a top marijuana official.

And last year, a law took effect allowing people to apply to have records
of now-legal marijuana crimes sealed.

*Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.*

The post Maine Initiative To Roll Back Marijuana Legalization Is ‘Really
Dumb,’ GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Says appeared first on Marijuana Moment.