New Maine Ballot Initiative Would Roll Back Marijuana Legalization Law Approved By Voters

There’s another effort brewing to undermine a state voter-approved
marijuana law—this time in Maine, where a citizen initiative backed by GOP
operatives has been submitted in hopes of rolling back the commercial
adult-use market.

Almost 10 years after Maine voters passed a recreational legalization
measure at the ballot, a group of voters—including a Republican state
senator and a former top staffer to then-Gov. Paul LePage (R), a staunch
prohibitionist—filed a petition to repeal much of the law with the
secretary of state’s office last month.

This comes as a separate campaign in Massachusetts says it’s “on track” to
turn in enough signatures to qualify their own initiative to roll back
cannabis legalization for the state’s 2026 ballot.

In Maine, the citizen initiative application led by Madison Carey and
signed by state Sen. Scott Cyrway (R), former LePage senior policy advisor
Nicholas Adolphsen and others describes a broad repeal of current statutes
allowing for the retail sale of cannabis to adults, while also stripping
consumers of the right to grow their own plants for personal use.

Possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana by adults would remain legal
under the proposal. And the state’s medical cannabis program would remain
intact.

The draft initiative must be approved by the secretary of state’s office
before proponents can circulate petitions, and a spokesperson for that
office told Marijuana Moment on Wednesday that the petitioners have since
“asked for changes to the proposed bill from the Revisor’s office.”

“Once that is back, it will need to go to another office for a fiscal
impact statement, and only then can the Elections staff layout and issue
the petition,” they said.

Carey, the chief petitioner, did not immediately respond to a request for
comment from Marijuana Moment. So it remains unclear what, if any,
substantive changes they’re asking the state to make to the ballot language.

As currently drafted, however, the initiative also details a process by
which the Office of Cannabis Policy would need to streamline requests from
existing adult-use businesses to convert to medical marijuana licensees.

It would also allow cannabis products available in recreational shops to be
sold or transferred to medical marijuana licensees.

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 told Marijuana Moment he is “deeply
concerned” by the new prohibitionist campaign.

“This effort ignores the will of Maine voters who chose to end the failed
era of prohibition nearly a decade ago,” he said. “Since legalization,
Maine has generated hundreds of millions in tax revenue; created thousands
of good-paying Maine jobs; and replaced a dangerous black market with a
safe, regulated system that prioritizes consumer safety and quality
control.”

“We’ve avoided the pitfalls seen in other states by fostering a market that
supports small businesses and local growers,” Boyer said. “Turning back now
would only empower criminal enterprises, waste taxpayer dollars on
ineffective enforcement, and infringe on the personal freedoms of
responsible adults.”

Outside of the ballot process, there have been multiple recent attempts to
undermine state marijuana laws in legislatures across the country, generating
criticism for advocates who have blasted primarily GOP lawmakers for going
against the interests of the majority who favor reform.


*— 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. —*

Back in Maine, legislators in June reversed course and 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.

*Read the text of the draft ballot initiative to repeal Maine’s commercial
marijuana market below:*

The post New Maine Ballot Initiative Would Roll Back Marijuana Legalization
Law Approved By Voters appeared first on Marijuana Moment.