Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Portland , Maine – Recreational marijuana became legal in Maine at 12 a.m. Monday.
Here's what you can do under the legal marijuana law:
The law, which was passed by referendum in November, allows adults 21 and over to legally possess 2.5 ounces of marijuana.
Adults can also have six flowering marijuana plants and 12 nonflowering plants.
Marijuana use is allowed in private homes.
You can give marijuana to a friend as along as you receive nothing in return.
Here's what you can't do under the legal marijuana law:
Driving while high and smoking marijuana in public remain illegal.
You can't sell marijuana, and marijuana retail stores and social clubs remain on hold until next year at the earliest.
The Legislature passed a law pushing the opening of marijuana stores and other marijuana sales in Maine until February 2018. The moratorium also closed a loophole in the new law that allowed legal possession of marijuana by youth.
A committee of Maine lawmakers that will work to implement the rules around legal marijuana will get started this week.
Legislative leaders announced the members of the Select Committee on Marijuana Legalization Implementation on Monday.
The committee will make recommendations to the full state legislature.
Gov. Paul LePage signed an executive order on Monday directing rulemaking authority legal marijuana to the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations.
He said last week he wanted the Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages & Lottery Operations to oversee legal marijuana, instead of the Department of Agriculture.
"The era of marijuana prohibition in Maine is finally coming to an end," David Boyer, Maine political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement.
"Responsible adult marijuana consumers will no longer be harassed and treated like criminals," Boyer said. "Police will be able to spend more time addressing serious crimes rather than punishing adults for using a substance that is safer than alcohol."
Opponents of legalized marijuana in Maine say they will continue fighting to make sure its implementation is done with public safety in mind.Scott Gagnon is director of Maine's chapter of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a group opposed to legalization.
He says those who opposed the ballot question have gone "from a campaign to doing everything we can to mitigate the risk." He says advocates will be there every step of the way as state legislators hammer out rules governing marijuana sales.
Question 1, which legalizes and taxes marijuana in Maine, passed by only 4,073 votes, or 0.54 percent. About 30 percent of the total vote was recounted, officials said.
The final vote as certified by the Secretary of State's Office was 381,768 yes votes and 377,773 no votes, a 3,995-vote difference.
Maine joins seven other states and the District of Columbia where recreational marijuana is legal.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: What You Can And Can't Do Now That Marijuana Is Legal In Maine
Author: Cassidy Swanson
Contact: (603) 669-9999
Photo Credit: Dank Depot
Website: WMUR 9
Here's what you can do under the legal marijuana law:
The law, which was passed by referendum in November, allows adults 21 and over to legally possess 2.5 ounces of marijuana.
Adults can also have six flowering marijuana plants and 12 nonflowering plants.
Marijuana use is allowed in private homes.
You can give marijuana to a friend as along as you receive nothing in return.
Here's what you can't do under the legal marijuana law:
Driving while high and smoking marijuana in public remain illegal.
You can't sell marijuana, and marijuana retail stores and social clubs remain on hold until next year at the earliest.
The Legislature passed a law pushing the opening of marijuana stores and other marijuana sales in Maine until February 2018. The moratorium also closed a loophole in the new law that allowed legal possession of marijuana by youth.
A committee of Maine lawmakers that will work to implement the rules around legal marijuana will get started this week.
Legislative leaders announced the members of the Select Committee on Marijuana Legalization Implementation on Monday.
The committee will make recommendations to the full state legislature.
Gov. Paul LePage signed an executive order on Monday directing rulemaking authority legal marijuana to the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations.
He said last week he wanted the Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages & Lottery Operations to oversee legal marijuana, instead of the Department of Agriculture.
"The era of marijuana prohibition in Maine is finally coming to an end," David Boyer, Maine political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement.
"Responsible adult marijuana consumers will no longer be harassed and treated like criminals," Boyer said. "Police will be able to spend more time addressing serious crimes rather than punishing adults for using a substance that is safer than alcohol."
Opponents of legalized marijuana in Maine say they will continue fighting to make sure its implementation is done with public safety in mind.Scott Gagnon is director of Maine's chapter of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a group opposed to legalization.
He says those who opposed the ballot question have gone "from a campaign to doing everything we can to mitigate the risk." He says advocates will be there every step of the way as state legislators hammer out rules governing marijuana sales.
Question 1, which legalizes and taxes marijuana in Maine, passed by only 4,073 votes, or 0.54 percent. About 30 percent of the total vote was recounted, officials said.
The final vote as certified by the Secretary of State's Office was 381,768 yes votes and 377,773 no votes, a 3,995-vote difference.
Maine joins seven other states and the District of Columbia where recreational marijuana is legal.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: What You Can And Can't Do Now That Marijuana Is Legal In Maine
Author: Cassidy Swanson
Contact: (603) 669-9999
Photo Credit: Dank Depot
Website: WMUR 9
