Legislative committee votes unanimously for pot moratorium on retail sales
Courtesy / Flickr, MarihuanayMedicina
A legislative committee unanimously endorsed a bill that would impose on one-year moratorium on commercial sales of marijuana. LD 88 will now go to a vote by the full Legislature.
A legislative committee Thursday unanimously approved a bill that, if approved by the full Legislature and signed by Gov. Paul LePage, would impose a one-year moratorium on the retail sale of marijuana in Maine.
The Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee spent three days considering 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, which otherwise would be allowed within nine months of the enactment of Question 1’s legalization of marijuana that took effect on Jan. 30.
If approved by the full Legislature, LD 88 will delay implementation of retail sales of marijuana until Feb. 1, 2018, and prohibit Maine citizens who are under the age of 21 from possessing the drug, among other measures.
Bypartisan support for moratorium
“It is very encouraging to see bipartisan support for this measure regarding the marijuana moratorium,” said Senate President Michael Thibodeau, R-Waldo, in a written statement sent out by his office. “Although Maine voters approved this measure, albeit by a very narrow margin, I believe it is clear to all that there are many unforeseen circumstances surrounding legalization that impact public safety, employment and a number of other areas. It is hard to imagine that anyone who voted in favor of legalization wanted children to get their hands on this drug.
This moratorium will allow our elected officials to create sound public policy around legalization in a responsible manner.”
“The more time the committee spent reviewing the language of Question 1 from last November’s ballot, the more issues that were found,” added Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason, R-Androscoggin, who chairs the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee. “Question 1, which narrowly passed on last November’s ballot, was a very complex bill. There is no way that Maine voters were able to fully comprehend some of the measures included in this lengthy bill, based on a single sentence on the ballot. It is simply not possible to concentrate 28 pages of law into a simple yes or no question.
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