Bill Would Change Maine Pot Law

by Sarah Komuniecki · Feb 25th 2009 · See more Local News

A committee in Augusta heard about a new bill Wednesday that would change limits and fines for marijuana possession. Rep. Patsy Crockett introduced the measure, which she says would streamline and clarify current law.

The bill would raise the amount of what's a non-criminal offense when it comes to marijuana possession, from one and a quarter ounces, to four ounces. It would also redefine criminal possession - and is already getting mixed reviews.

Crockett says local prosecutors approached her to propose the bill last summer, to save the state money prosecuting people who they say they can't prove are criminals intent on distributing.

"Because if somebody is in possession of a small amount of marijuana for their own use," says Crockett, "then they probably are not a criminal. So it saves the state money in court-appointed legal fees and the expense of a criminal trial."

The bill would make possession of up to four ounces of marijuana a civil violation.

Those opposed to the bill as it stands now include the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Director Roy McKinney says he agrees with better defining criminal marijuana possession, but says the new standard would be too much of a departure.

"This bill's proposal would give Maine the distinction of having the most extreme policy, if you will, with regard to simple possession of marijuana - by far," he says. "Most states have settled on about one ounce as that threshold for decriminalized possession."

McKinney says given that Maine youth have one of the highest marijuana use rates in the country, he doesn't want the state to appear to be loosening the rules.

"I definitely don't think they should lighten up on anything like that," says Bangor resident Ryan Matthews. "I think they should crack down maybe harder on it."

The Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Maine ACLU support the bill.

"I think it's an excellent idea," says Christopher Ruhlin of Bangor. "I think Maine needs to take a mature, realistic assessment of the situation...to have a responsible person using cannabis is completely normal, millions of people do it everyday."

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Comments

For anyone who deals with cronic pain on a daily basis (like myself), the legalization of marijuana would be a GODSEND!!!! The benefits of smoking certainly outway the side-effects of pain medications that some of us need to take just to get through our day.

Barbara Pandeli 02/26/2009 06:48 am

I don't know if I like the argument of loosen laws to lower court fees.

I didn't know that Maine youth have one of the highest marijuana use rates in the country.

Wow. We should do something about that. I can't imagine being a person that needs to seek alternate states of consciousnesses.

Alan Whitney 02/26/2009 07:05 am

In California, M is a 14 billion dollar a year business. In Mendocino County 60 percent of the population grows 8 plants for personal use, and 80 percent of all money comes from M income. Can you imagine how legalizing M in Maine would make the entire state recession proof? A 1966 international treaty makes M illegal and federal law prohibits possession or sale. But California has defied that and there is no skyrocketing crime from personal use, instead a kinder and gentler community. People have natural M receptors in the brain. All animals including humans can eat the seeds and flourish as there is no high in the seeds which are packed with oil and protein. As far back as history goes, M was used widely including Sumeria where seeds, pipes and resin has been found going back more than 5000 years. The fiber is an excellent source for clothing and rope. The leaves are packed with chlorophyll which is great for the immune system. The resin in the buds is one of the best natural pain killers on earth, rivaling aspirin from the bark of willow trees. M is a stimulant like tobacco and coffee and wakes people up unlike opiates and alcohol which are depressants. Saying M causes all further drug is like saying 99 % of all criminals tried coffee as a teenager and that is why they are criminals. Saying M causes mental illness is a joke as using M doubles the rate of mental illness from 1 in 1000 to 2 in 1000. The federal DEA hired Stanford Research institute to find heavy M users and prove they all had lung cancer from the 'dangerous smoke'. You do not hear of that study because, are you ready, heavy M smokers had almost NO lung cancer. Doctors in Maine will not prescribe M because the law is so poorly written, and people will not ask their doctors to do so. Pathetic. And M is excellent for back pain so people don't need opiates but is that in the law? NO. The biggest antidrug federal prosecutor in the US, quit his job in Portland Maine to become the chief counsel for the oxycontin company. The biggest state antidrug prosecutor in Maine was just arrested for child porn. I have smoked pot with judges, lawyers, doctors, nurses, priests, firemen, policemen, engineers, physicists, artists, film makers, actors, politicians at all levels, and the hypocrisy at all levels of society is a joke. The legal situation is a circus. And now the state will lay off detectives, prosecutors, and judges. And they have hundreds of rapes in this state that are not prosecuted. And people still want to fight the 'war on drugs' ??? By putting M with cocaine, heroin and meth you are forcing innocent people to associate with hard core losers. So what is the point? M costs $50 an ounce at the border, $100-150 to a distributor and $250 at a dealer. Don't you think people would grow petroleum in their back yards if they could. Well they can grow M and how much $ is then kept out of the drug dealers and cartels hands? Baldacci can legalize drilling for oil on the continental shelf in Maine and we can all get a $3200 check every year like every Alaskan does. California wants to tax M $50 per ounce and that would raise $1 billion for the state. 22 states have voted to suceed from the US in the last month for varous reasons. Is Maine going to go down the same drain as the country or are we bright enough to do what is right. We don't need to spend how many millions on M enforcement. We don't need a law that allows 4 ounces possession, as that keeps intact the drug dealer culture the same dealers who give your kids oxys and methadone, crack and smack. We need to legalize growing 4 M plants and let people live in peace. Where is the logic when we need it? Penalize M users and spend millions while making less police and prosecutors and judges, or let M users live in peace and forget about winning the drug war. Making criminals of thoughtful contributory citizens is stupid, does not anyone get it?

Ms X 02/26/2009 07:55 am

Is that what they mean by "the way life should be?" I didn't think it meant high taxes, lousy roads, low wages, and the highest per capita use of fuel oil in the nation. so, this is what it is all about

K 02/26/2009 11:40 am

Nothing like writing a book!!! HA! But okay. I think caring less about people using marijuana is just asking for trouble. We have a major problem with it now. This is just going to be an incentive for people to use even more. I think they should crack down harder on this issue. People that disagree are dealing with chronic pain, or they are just druggies. Plain and simple. And-marijuana is illegal unless prescribed by a doctor... So people with chronic pain, ask your doctor. If you really are in pain and they think you need it, they will prescribe it to you. Therefore-anyone without permission from a doctor to use marijuana-they are breaking the law. Which correct me if I'm wrong-when something is illegal and you do it-its breaking the law...Therefore-that would consider you a CRIMINAL. So for the people that think that this will save them money because they really arent criminals... WRONG...... Might want to rethink this out.

Mindy 02/28/2009 02:05 pm

People are making too much out of too little. KIDS ARE ALREADY USING IT!!!! iT IS THE NUMBER ONE CASH CROP IN MAINE! IS IT NOT TIME FOR A TAX STAMP AND STOP LISTENING TO THE DEA WHICH IS FUNDED BY AND PAID OFF BY BIG DRUG COMPANIES ( PHIZER ) . lET PEOPLE HAVE THE GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO USE ALL SEED BEARING PLANTS FOR MANS USE. GENESIS 1 : 29

Seamus Vernon 03/14/2009 12:19 am

Regardless of your moral views on smoking weed, it's pretty clear that the legal status of weed has no effect on its rate of consumption. To suggest otherwise goes against most historical evidence about drug use (consider the US' Alcohol Prohibition and drug policies in the Netherlands.) I would suggest that Maine's high weed smoking rates are due to the abundance ex-hippie parents and bored teenagers, not the relaxed marijuana laws. If you are truly worried about kids smoking weed, the only real way to stop them is through education (i.e. informing them of any scientifically proven health risks.)
Anyone with moral questions about smoking weed should put aside any preconcieved notions about the drug and look at hard scientific facts. Be wary of any argument for or against the use of weed; is the article based on personal opinion or well cited scientific studies? Also, consider the way we treat most legal drugs. Could it be that the best weed policy would be simply to educate citizens about responsible use rather than an all-out ban on the drug?
If you know your facts and you truly believe that marijuana possession should be a felony, then stand up for that belief. Otherwise, you might think twice before supporting the criminalization of marijuana.

Tom 03/25/2009 12:51 am

Let me give you some history. America's first drug Law Zar was named Anslinger (can't remember his first name) Anyway he was from Holidaysburg Pennsylvania. Before he got this post he married a woman named Dupont from Delaware, Explosives, petrochemicals, and lots of other products Hemp could compete with. Its always about money in this country, pot smokers aren't criminals, but we have a justice system that is outdated. America is changing, finally

David C. Weaver 04/10/2009 02:27 am

sports cars are more dangerous than cannabis

Fentruck 05/18/2009 01:21 am

I think making pot legal would be against many people's beliefs; however, making the drug legal might lower the use of it. many people are, I believe, are using it in defiance of the laws that prohibit it. Legalizing marijuana would allow people to come out in the open, which means people would be able to get help without getting in trouble. Indeed, those who use it in defiance would probably quit, seeing as they would no longer have a reason to do it.

Aaron Duren 05/28/2009 01:54 pm

I personally belive that Marijuana is a God-Given natural resource. As a medically proven medicine, it has relieved the suffering of millions of people suffering from a wide spectrum of illnesses from AIDS and Cancer to Glaucoma and Anxiety. Just because YOU may choose for whatever reason to abstain from toking up, don't cage people up with your scum for using a wonderful gift given to us by the sovereign of the Universe.
If someoe I loved was sick and was imprisoned for growing medicine, I would dedicate every drop of blood in my body to make a random portion of the CIVILIANS who support that type of cruelty feel the inescapable horror of unrelievable pain.

Joe 12/16/2009 12:14 am