A petition approved this week by Maine secretary of state’s office could bring the future of recreational marijuana back to the ballot—this time, to shut it down.
WESTBROOK, Maine — Nearly a decade after Maine voters narrowly approved a referendum to legalize recreational cannabis, a new initiative seeks to reverse that decision.
If successful, it would outlaw home cultivation and close down the vast majority of retail cannabis stores across the state, leaving possession legal but severely restricting access.
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One of the petitioners is Calvary Chapel Pastor and founder Travis Carey, a recovering addict who says he’s seen firsthand the harm cannabis has caused him and the people who attend his church.
“Almost, if not all of them, will say marijuana was a gateway drug,” Carey said of those he’s counseled through addiction recovery.
Carey said he and his wife were asked to be certified petitioners for the proposed legislation and they gladly accepted. While he emphasized his views are his own and do not represent the views of his church, he hopes the effort either succeeds or at least pressures the state to increase oversight.
“If not, let’s at least have stricter regulations,” Carey added.
The petition poses a sharp contrast to the momentum the cannabis industry has built since 2016.
The state now boasts hundreds of cannabis businesses, lawmakers say it provides more than 10,000 jobs, and last year the state took in $40 million in tax revenue from the industry.
Maine’s Revenue Forecasting Committee predicts that number will be steady over at least the next five years.
If the ballot initiative passes, growing marijuana at home would again be illegal, and licensed retail sales would be shut down, effectively pushing consumers to the illicit market.
“So they’re OK with Mainers having it, but they want to force them to the illicit market,” Boyer said.
Rep. David Boyer, a Republican from Poland who led the charge to legalize cannabis in 2016, is now actively opposing the rollback. Ironically, it’s his earlier efforts that this new petition would undo.
“I would argue the gateway is the person that you purchase the cannabis from. Perhaps they have other drugs they would also like to sell you. When I go into the cannabis store, I’m only offered cannabis,” Boyer said.
Paul McCarrier, who owns 1 Mill dispensary in Belfast, says the economic impact of the proposed law would be devastating.
“Think about all the people that have mortgage payments, that have car payments, that would be losing their jobs from this,” he said.
Opponents of the current system cite concerns about potency, product testing, and overall lack of regulation. But Boyer says reforms are already underway. Making cannabis illegal again, he argues, won’t solve these problems.
“We’re not going to have our arms around it if we make it all illegal, right?” he remarked.
