“Marijuana and other substances similar to alcohol should be treated the same way.”
By Evan Popp, Maine Morning Star
On Wednesday, a legislative panel voted against removing marijuana from Maine’s penal code.
Joe Baldacci’s (D-Penobscot), a senator, proposed that marijuana be removed from the list of scheduled drugs in Maine. He also eliminated the crimes involving the illegal trafficking and possession. I would have also removed the rule stating that someone who has a specific amount of marijuana is supplying it illegally and eliminated any mandatory minimum prison terms for marijuana-related crimes, among other things.
The bill also would have ordered that the Department of Public Safety expunge any criminal convictions or civil violations related marijuana. However, there are questions about whether this action would be permitted under Maine’s Constitution.
Maine legalized marijuana in 2016 via a ballot measure for people 21 and older. The current limit for marijuana possession is 2.5 ounces.
The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, voting 8-2 against Baldacci’s Bill. The committee members expressed concern that Maine would be left without any regulatory framework for marijuana if the state removed it from its criminal code.
The bill was supported by only two Democrats: Tavis Hasenfus from Readfield, and Grayson Lookner from Portland. Hasenfus and Lookner, however, supported an amended version that directed a stakeholder to review the Criminal Code to determine if marijuana-related offenses could be removed and if replacement statutes would be necessary. The amendment would also require that group to provide a report to the committee on its findings.
Baldacci told the committee that he doesn’t believe the state should continue to include marijuana in the criminal code, since Maine voters legalized the drug via the 2016 referendum.
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He said that marijuana should be treated the same way as alcohol and other substances. “If we continue to have a divided house and keep some criminal elements in the marijuana system I think this is patently unfair. I also think that it’s a formula for selective prosecution.”
Baldacci referred to a 2020 study by the ACLU that showed that Black people were four times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession in Maine in 2018 despite having similar rates of use.
The bill is now headed to the full legislative body, where it could face a tough path ahead due to the fact that the majority of members in the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted against the bill.
The original publication of this story was by Maine Morning Star.
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