Maine won't honor the will of its voters (and lead the way with cannabis social clubs)
Progress with Maine’s marijuana law has slowed to a crawl and it’s easy to get the important details hazy. Unless you were completely couch-locked all month, here’s a quick refresher of cannabis law in Maine and what the heck is up.
A bipartisan committee spent months last year working on a veto-proof rewrite of the Maine Marijuana Legalization Act that would have set up the retail market. It’s most notable additions were a provision allowing towns to “opt in” to marijuana and a 10 percent tax on recreational sales. Cannabis entrepreneurs were happy that the Department of Agriculture was written in as the regulatory agency instead of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, but there’s was a concern that LePage would work with his colleagues in the DOA to continue to kick the can further down the road than he already has. The concerns were valid— LePage vetoed the bill in November and House Republicans, led by Leader Ken Fredette, sustained his veto. They managed to impose a moratorium on the legislation until February 1.
Though the moratorium on recreational sales has by now expired, it’s still not legal to buy and sell cannabis because the framework for licensing still isn't in place. Meanwhile, lawmakers are determined to extend the moratorium until they can come to a consensus on how the product should be taxed, and where marijuana companies are allowed to do business. The Marijuana Legalization Implementation Committee proposed extending the moratorium until May 1, but LePage and House Republicans want it to last even longer — until January 1, 2019.
Don’t expect any kush clubs or local marijuana cafes anytime soon either. On January 16, the Marijuana Legalization Implementation Committee capitulated to LePage’s wishes and voted 5-1 to delay the role out of marijuana social clubs until 2023. They hope this will make it easier for the more hardline anti-marijuana lawmakers to pass the eventual rewrite of the original bill allowing regulated sales to adults 21 and over.
Read more: https://www.conwaydailysun.com/portland_phoenix/columns/maine-won-t-honor-the-will-of-its-voters-and/article_187fd746-05f1-11e8-9657-830d59eaab4e.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
