Maine, Maryland Marijuana Legalization Bills Filed

By admin on February 26, 2013

And then there were five. Maine and Maryland became the latest states to see marijuana legalization bills filed this year, with lawmakers in those two states rolling out measures this week. They join Hawaii (already killed), Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, with Pennsylvania and Vermont expected to add to the list shortly.

In Maine, state Reps. Diane Russell (D-Portland) and Aaron Libby (R-Waterford) held a press conference Thursday to unveil details of their new bill, the Tax and Regulate Marijuana Act (no bill number or online text yet available). As the title suggests, it would legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana for adults 21 and over.

The bill would remove criminal penalties for possession and cultivation of small amounts of marijuana, direct a state agency to license and regulate marijuana commerce, including industrial hemp, create a $ 50 an ounce excise tax on wholesale sales, and allow localities to not allow marijuana commerce.

“When it comes to keeping marijuana away from teens, keeping marijuana in an unregulated underground market is the worst possible policy,” Rep. Russell said. “Instead, marijuana should be sold by legitimate, taxpaying businesses in a tightly regulated market.”

“Marijuana is objectively far less harmful than alcohol for the consumer and for the broader community,” said David Boyer, Maine political director for the Marijuana Policy Project. “It is irrational to punish adults who simply prefer to use the less harmful substance. Law enforcement resources should be focused on preventing and responding to serious crimes rather than enforcing the failed policy of marijuana prohibition,” Boyer said. “It’s time for a more sensible approach.”

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