LePage puts brakes on lawmakers' delay of retail marijuana sales
Courtesy / Flickr, MarihuanayMedicina
Lawmakers unanimously approved on Thursday a bill that would impose on one-year moratorium on retail sales of marijuana, but Gov. Paul LePage said he isn't ready to sign it until they specify where the funding will come from.
Despite unanimous bipartisan approval Thursday of a bill delaying retail sales of marijuana and closing a potential loophole that could allow Mainers under age 21 to possess the drug, Gov. Paul LePage said he won’t sign the legislation into law until lawmakers authorize funding to support the licensing and regulatory requirements.
Shortly after 1 p.m. Friday, Senate President Mike Thibodeau, R-Winterport, issued a statement calling on LePage to reconsider his position and sign the legislation currently on his desk to avoid what Thibodeau's office is characterizing as a “looming public safety threat.”
“Unless Gov. Paul LePage signs legislation that is currently on his desk, on Monday it will be legal for Mainers under the age of 21 to use and possess marijuana, and for all Maine residents to drive while using the drug, in accordance with the voter-approved Question 1 on last November’s ballot,” the Senate President's Office said in a written statement sent to Mainebiz.
Thibodeau’s office revealed that LePage’s unwillingness to sign the bill stems from his desire that the Legislature “fix” the bill, LD 88, which was unanimously approved by both the House and Senate on Thursday. The governor wants the bill to include provisions to move oversight of retail sales from the Department of Agriculture to the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages & Lottery Operations and to add $1.6 million in funding, according to the written statement.
Thibodeau’s office said a separate bill would accomplish the shift in oversight to the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations and noted that all of the funding that LePage has requested has been referred to the Marijuana Legalization Implementation Committee with the support of both Republican and Democrat leadership.
“It does not need to be treated as expedited, emergency legislation,” the office stated. “There is, however, immediate urgency to passing LD 88 in order to prevent possession and use of marijuana by minors and using the drug in motor vehicles from being legal, beginning Monday.”
Thibodeau said he hoped the governor would reconsider and sign the legislation before Monday.
The Portland Press Herald reported that LD 88, "An Act to Delay the Implementation of Certain Portions of the Marijuana Legalization Act," an emergency bill introduced after concerns were raised about the state's readiness to oversee retail sales of marijuana, was approved by a 143-0 vote in the House and a 34-0 vote in the Senate on Thursday.
House Speaker Sara Gideon, D-Freeport, told the newspaper that the Legislature had done its job in passing the emergency legislation and that LePage was “not fulfilling his responsibility to the people of the state right now.”
Thibodeau had praised the Legislature’s quick action in a written statement issued before LePage’s refusal to immediately act on the bill after its passage.
“The Maine Legislature today took decisive and appropriate action regarding legalized marijuana by voting unanimously for this bill in both the House and Senate,” he said in the statement sent to Mainebiz. “Passage of LD 88 means minors will not be able to use or possess marijuana legally and will prohibit driving while using the drug on Maine roads. It will also give lawmakers time to carefully craft responsible legislation around legalization to protect the public. I am encouraged by today’s vote, but much more work remains to be done on this issue.”
Here's what the bill calls for
As approved by lawmakers Thursday, LD 88 would do the following:
- Delay the effective date of most of the provisions of the Marijuana Legalization Act approved by voters in November to Feb. 1, 2018. The delayed effective date does not apply to the repeal of the previous state law making possession of up to 2-1/2 ounces of marijuana a civil violation, which will be effective as of Jan. 30, 2017.
- Clarifies that possession of a usable amount of marijuana by a juvenile is a crime, unless the juvenile is authorized to possess marijuana for medicinal use.
- Prohibits possession of any edible retail marijuana products until Feb. 1, 2018.
Provisions of the voter-approved Question 1 that will take effect on Jan. 30 include the right of those 21 years and older to use, possess or transport up to 2 ½ ounces of marijuana; to transfer without sale up to 2-½ ounces of marijuana and up to six immature plants or seedlings to someone who is 21 or older; to consume marijuana in a private residence.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include comments issued by the office of Senate President Mike Thibodeau, R-Winterport, early Friday afternoon.
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