Gov. LePage Certifies Recreational Marijuana Legalization with Signature

Governor Paul LePage certified the November election results on December 31. LePage confirmed his certification of the results on January 3. The one negative, he’s urging the state Legislature to impose a moratorium on recreational marijuana sales.

The moratorium would be to allow enough time to iron out details of the legislation, according to Portland Press Herald. Funding and regulatory framework need to be sorted out too. Under the law, adults ages 21 and older can possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana.

Legal adults will also allow residents to grow up to six plants. The law takes effect on January 30. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is tasked with regulating the commercial marijuana sales. Funds are required from the Legislature to move forward with creating an agency for marijuana sales regulations.

LePage said, “There’s nothing I can do until the Legislature gives me money to set up the infrastructure.”

The moratorium LePage wants in place would also establish the need to continue the state’s medical marijuana program. He’s also hesitant due to the increased number of Colorado residents that obtained medical marijuana cards to avoid paying taxes on recreational sales. He doesn’t want to see that happen in Maine.

LePage said, “So now they are collecting just a fraction of the taxes they thought they would. We really need to sit down and look at this and if we are going to tax, let’s tax it, and if we are not going to tax it, let’s not even bother doing it.”

LePage isn’t sold on the estimated amount of marijuana sales tax dollars that the state could collect. Paul McCarrier estimated that Maine could collect as much as $200-million annually in marijuana sales tax revenue by 2020.

Some supporters of recreational marijuana in Maine are open to making changes to the laws as they’re written now. According to David Boyer of Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, support for banning edibles that would be attractive to children is something to consider. Boyer believes that ending the medical marijuana program in the state is a bad idea.