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The Maine House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill to decriminalize possession of all currently illicit drugs, delivering a victory to reform advocates on the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon\u2019s declaration of the war on drugs.<\/p>\n
The Senate also began consideration of the legislation on Thursday, but has not yet taken a vote.<\/p>\n
The proposal, LD 967, was approved in 77-62 vote<\/a> in the House. It would make possession of controlled substances for personal use punishable by a $100 fine, without the threat of incarceration. That fine could also be waived if a person completes a substance misuse assessment within 45 days of being cited.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are continually trying to criminalize a symptom of a disease. It hasn\u2019t worked. It won\u2019t work,\u201d Rep. Charlotte Warren (D), who serves as the House chair of the legislature\u2019s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, said before the vote. \u201cWe have tried criminalizing this disease for decades, and 11 Mainers a week are dying.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Anne Perry (D), sponsor of the bill<\/a>, said that incarcerating people who are suffering from addiction \u201conly proves to them that they are as bad as they think they are\u201d and perpetuates the cycle of substance misuse. \u201cLaw enforcement is not the gateway to treatment and recovery. It\u2019s a gateway to isolation and suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n The measure\u2019s passage<\/a> flies in the face of Gov. Janet Mills (D), whose administration opposes the reform, as does the state attorney general. Coupled with opposition from Republican legislators, the bill faces an uphill battle to final passage.<\/p>\n \u2014 The Senate also began<\/a> consideration of the legislation on Thursday night, adopting a different committee report than the House approved, but setting it aside as unfinished business before taking a final vote on the bill. The version moving forward in that chamber would similarly impose a $100 fine for possession, but only for the first two offenses. Subsequent offenses would be considered Class E crimes that could carry jail time.<\/p>\n These actions come one month after a joint House and Senate committee advanced the decriminalization bill<\/a> with several conflicting recommendations, as well as another measure to reform the state\u2019s drug trafficking laws.<\/p>\n Supporters of the legislation<\/a> include the American Academy of Pediatrics\u2019s Maine Chapter, Maine Medical Association, Alliance for Addiction and Mental Health Services in Maine and Maine Council of Churches.<\/p>\n Thursday\u2019s decriminalization vote represents a continuation of a national conversation about the need to reform laws criminalizing people over drugs and treat substance misuse as a public health issue, rather than a criminal justice matter.<\/p>\n For the first time ever, a congressional bill to federally decriminalize possession of controlled substances\u2014and incentivize states to do the same\u2014was formally introduced on Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last year, Oregon voters elected to\u00a0end criminalization of low-level drug possession<\/a>\u00a0at the ballot.<\/p>\n Vermont lawmakers also introduced\u00a0a bill in March that would end criminal penalties<\/a>\u00a0for possessing small amounts of drugs in the state.<\/p>\n Also that month, a Rhode Island Senate committee held a hearing on decriminalization legislation to\u00a0replace criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of drugs<\/a>\u00a0with a $100 fine.<\/p>\n Back in Maine, a bill was recently introduced that would\u00a0legalize psilocybin mushrooms for therapeutic purposes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Senators Publicly Pressure Key Chairman For Vote On Marijuana Banking Bill<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Maine Lawmakers Approve Bill To Decriminalize All Drugs On 50th Anniversary Of Nixon\u2019s \u2018War On Drugs\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The Maine House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill to decriminalize possession of all currently illicit drugs, delivering a victory to reform advocates on the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon\u2019s declaration of the war on drugs. The Senate also began consideration of the legislation on Thursday, but hasContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":48358,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48357"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48357"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48359,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48357\/revisions\/48359"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Maine Lawmakers Approve Bill To Decriminalize All Drugs On 50th Anniversary Of Nixon\u2019s \u2018War On Drugs\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"