Legislature overturns LePage veto on recreational marijuana bill

[jpak]

Source: Portland Press Herald

AUGUSTA – The Legislature on Wednesday overturned a veto by Republican Gov. Paul LePage that would have again stalled the legal sale of recreational marijuana, taking a major step toward launching a legal retail market for the drug.

The votes of 109-39 in the House and 28-6 in the Senate sets Maine on a path to the legal sale and production of recreational marijuana some 18 months after voters approved legal marijuana at the ballot box in 2016.

However, it will likely be the spring of 2019 before the first retail shops can open for business.

Now that the bill has passed, the Department of Adminstration and Financial Services must hire a consultant to help the state write regulatory rules, including inspection and licensing of wholesale commercial growing facilities, licensing of retail sellers and collection of sales taxes. The rules will have to be approved by the next Legislature, which convenes in January.

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Read more: https://www.pressherald.com/2018/05/02/house-overturns-lepage-veto-on-recreational-marijuana-bill/

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Fuck you LePew - the Stain of Maine

[sandensea]

1. Baron Pagekonnen will just have to learn to light a peace pipe.

That anyone would want to share one with him, is another story.

[DAMANgoldberg]

2. I have only been to Maine in a LCV...

But it seems to me that you don't have to re-invent the wheel here. Schedule a trip to Vermont and/or Alaska, states of comparable populations that have rules into place and see if it will work for you. By the time the next legislative session rolls around, h

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. A Light Combat Vehicle, wow, what caused that? Or do you mean League of Conservation Voters?

[DAMANgoldberg]

5. Large Combination Vehicle

i.E. 18 Wheel Over The Road Truck (2009-2014). Every continental US state driven except South Dakota plus Ontario and Quebec before the rules changed.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. OK, then KIB . . . . nt

[Lint Head]

4. I've often wondered if marijuana should actually be classified as a drug.

I realuze THC and other chemicals within marijuana are considered drugs. But why aren't poisonous plants that grow in your yard considered a drug? Is it because no one uses them as a drug? I drink water regularly to improve health. But water is not a drug. Prior to it being declared illegal it grew wild as a weed along railroad tracks and in the woods. My father was born in 1912. People of his generation used to talk about how it grew wild and hemp seeds that fell off of freight trains crew abundantly along the tracks. I realize hemp that is used for clothing,etc, does not contain enough THC to be considered a drug. But it does seem like categorizing and quantifying something in a particular way makes more easily controlled by corporations and easier to make illegal.
It's as if during the Reefer Madness days marginalizng it made it easier to control.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. Wow. Maine-uh!

Whole new industry will pop up overnight and some desperately needed money (from taxes I would assume) will fill what I expect are some empty coffers.

[lame54]

9. You thought their lobster tasted good before

[SunSeeker]

10. LOL

[BumRushDaShow]

12. Ha yeah!

Used to go to Kittery when we visited my aunt/uncle/cousins who lived in NH. That was a long long time ago.

[lame54]

8. The Teabagger Got Smoked

[bitterross]

11. I knew the profit motive would over-rule everything else.

We all know this is because people can make money on it.

[Hortensis]

21. Maine VOTERS approved legalization last fall.

Not by a lot, but it was a majority. And remember, profits follow demand, not vice versa.

Your post just happened to remind me of comedian Bill Hicks. Back when I was spending hours crawling around the floor after my first baby, a friend who'd seen him and thought he was the epitome of wisdom gave me one of his albums for my birthday. To counter too much happiness, presumably.

“I'm tired of this back-slappin' "isn't humanity neat" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes.” ― Bill Hicks

[bitterross]

23. Yes, but the legislature overrode the veto.

It's still about the money.

[Hortensis]

25. Oh, I thought passage had triggered misanthropy.

Is there any outcome that you would see as a positive step? Surely not insisting on continuing to jail users?

Don't answer. I'm still smiling over poor Bill's directness and prefer to keep it that way. He died tragically young, of cancer, you know. I've never believed in that positive thinking, back-slapping bullshit ( ), but apparently some pre-Enlightenment gene nevertheless makes it easy to believe somehow he somehow may have drawn "bad vibes."

[bitterross]

26. Stop reading into what I said. I'm happy the overrode the veto. It is a positive outcome.

I have no idea where you got that last post.

All I'm saying is that recreational marijuana is going to win because it makes money. I think it's a good idea anyway. We're spending too much time an effort on the failed war on drugs. I hate Sessions and his policies.

Is that clear enough?

[Hortensis]

27. Sure. Might have said that instead.

Too much cynicism is worse than none, you know. Discourages good. Again, there is no profit without demand. Republicans like to claim that rich people create jobs, but it's really demand. No demand, no business, no jobs, no joints.

[bitterross]

28. Some people have way too much time on their hands. /nt

[Maine-i-acs]

13. Ultimately, sane citizens and legislators outgunned Paul LeRage.

First a citizen's referendum passed.
Then every attempt to move forward was stopped by LeRage.
But the sensible Legislators realized the people actually voted for this. It took some time but they did what they had to do to move the will of the People forward.
Thanks, Augusta folks, for making Veto Day another fun session.

[lordsummerisle]

14. K&R n/t

[Honeycombe8]

15. Those are pretty strong vote majorities. Sweet. nt

[Pluvious]

16. Nice to see the will of the people wins the day over would be repressors

Jah bless Bob Marley

[Cha]

17. Yay, Maine Voters.. they must really not be

liking Le Page about now.. finally. When is he out?

[Haggis for Breakfast]

18. The Pain of Maine

LaPage is nasty little tyrant. Kudos to the State Lege for finally standing up to this petty mean-spirited man. He has treated Maine like he effing owned the entire state for tooooo long.

[raven mad]

19. The winning argument here? SIN TAX REVENUE!

It won over the hardcore Xtians & their houses of (mammon) worship.

[duforsure]

20. How long now

Before they vote out lepage?

[Orsino]

22. So how does LePage fight this?

And if he can't fight it, how can he hamper it?

I would have bet money that the story would quote him vowing vengeance and defiance to the end. Surely he's not completely done?

[rollin74]

24. Great news. Good for Maine