PORTLAND LEGISLATOR PUSHES BILL TO LEGALIZE, TAX MARIJUANA IN MAINE

PORTLAND - Imagine walking into a neighborhood store to buy beer,
wine, liquor and cigarettes. But on your way home you make one more
stop to buy marijuana, legally.

That's the vision Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland, will outline at a
press conference on Wednesday at Portland City Hall, when she
introduces LD 1453: An Act to Legalize and Tax Marijuana.

The bill would legalize and regulate marijuana much the same way the
state regulates the alcohol and tobacco industries. It would allow
adults over 21 to cultivate, possess, purchase and use marijuana
within certain limits.

The bill would also institute a 7 percent sales tax on recreational
and medicinal marijuana transactions.

"It's an issue whose time has come," Russell said in an interview
Monday morning at the Hilltop Coffee Shop on Munjoy Hill.

Russell said the legislation is supported by the Maine Civil
Liberties Union and by a group of caregivers who grow and supply
patients with medical marijuana.

Since the bill would legalize pot, it would affect Maine's medical
marijuana law, making it unnecessary to get a doctor's permission to
buy and use the the drug.

MCLU Public Policy Counsel Alysia N. Melnick called the proposal
"smart policy." Investing scarce resources into criminalizing people
who use marijuana is costly, inhumane and diverts funding from more
important programs, she said.

"The 'war on drugs' is quite costly in both financial and human
terms, and the prohibition of marijuana has not measurably reduced
its use," Melnick said. "This is a clear call for us to reconsider
our laws and policies on marijuana."

Russell said current marijuana law "ensnares" good people, making it
difficult for them to get jobs, apply for loans and the like.

She said her bill also has bi-partisan support in the Legislature,
where it's co-sponsored by Rep. Richard Cebra, R-Naples; Rep. Aaron
Libby, R-Waterboro; Rep. Wayne Mitchell, who represents Penobscot
Nation; Rep. Andrew O'Brien, D-Lincolnville, and Rep. Frederick
Wintle, R-Garland.

The bill has been referred to the Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Committee, but as of Tuesday there were no public hearings or work
sessions scheduled.

Russell said she expects opponents will argue that legalizing
marijuana will open the door to more dangerous and addictive drug use.

But Russell doesn't buy that. She believes the black market is that
gateway, not the marijuana itself.

"The market already exists," Russell said. "It's not the drug that's
the gateway, it's the drug dealer."

Russell said addiction to marijuana, like other legal drugs,
including alcohol and tobacco, should be treated as a mental health
issue, rather than a criminal issue.

South Portland Police Chief Edward Googins, who is also president of
the Maine Chiefs of Police Association, could not be reached for comment.

Russell said the 20-page bill addresses concerns that have plagued
other legalization efforts. She said it outlaws use by minors and
marketing efforts geared towards children.

The bill would allow people over 21 to possess up to a pound of
marijuana and paraphernalia. An adult could produce and store
marijuana for personal use within a 75-square-foot area of their
home, and allow them to purchase up to 2.5 ounces or seedlings from a
licensed dealer.

The production and storage limits would be greater for commercial
producers. They could produce and store marijuana in a 2,000-square-foot area.

The bill would require the state commissioner of public safety to
develop administrative rules by Dec. 11, and the tax structure would
take effect on Jan. 1, 2012.

Russell said she hopes the bill will become a model for other
legalization efforts across the country. For that to happen, however,
she said "mainstream" residents are going to have to step forward,
shed the fear of being associated with the "stoner" community, and
speak their minds.

"Why are we enforcing a policy we don't agree with and not collecting
taxes?" she said.

Russell pointed to a 2006 report published in The Bulletin of
Cannabis Reform, indicating that marijuana was the state's No. 1 cash
crop and in the top three of 30 states.

According to the report, Maine produced about$122.8 million worth of
pot a year from 2003-2005. A 7 percent tax would have resulted in
$8.6 million in annual revenue for the state.

Russell said she knows it will be challenging to get the bill through
the typically conservative Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Committee. But, if she only gets one vote recommending passage,
Russell said she would push for a floor vote.

Even if the bill becomes state law, it will be in direct opposition
to federal drug law. But Russell said Maine is already out of
compliance with federal law, since medical marijuana is already legal
in the state.

"We need one state to do it and think other states will follow,"
Russell said. "Then the federal government (will have) no choice."