![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-35.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
A Republican gubernatorial candidate in Maine is imploring voters not to sign a petition to put a \u201creally dumb\u201d initiative on next year\u2019s ballot that would roll back the state\u2019s adult-use marijuana legalization law<\/a>.<\/p>\n The measure, if approved, would also revise the regulatory structure of the medical cannabis program by imposing product testing requirements.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s dumb. It\u2019s a dumb idea. Let\u2019s focus on the things that really matter\u2014the things that are going to make Maine a better place,\u201d David Jones, a real estate executive who previously ran for governor in 2006, said.<\/p>\n \u201cGive law enforcement the opportunity to enforce the laws. Get rid of these illegal Chinese grows,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s tens of thousands of people who use cannabis. There\u2019s people who invest their life savings [to enter the market]. This is an industry that generates over a half a billion dollars a year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018I think we just have to focus on the things that make sense. And this, I\u2019m sorry, just does not make sense,\u201d Jones said. \u201cSo please do not sign that petition. It doesn\u2019t make any sense. Stand with me on this, and let\u2019s do what we can to make Maine great again.\u201d<\/p>\n The proposal that officials cleared for signature gathering earlier this month\u2014\u201cAn Act to Amend the Cannabis Legalization Act and the Maine Medical Use of Cannabis Act\u201d\u2014is a revised version of a marijuana initiative filed in September that was backed by a Republican state senator and a former top staffer to then-Gov. Paul LePage (R), a staunch prohibitionist.<\/p>\n If the latest measure makes the ballot and gets approved, it would remove and amend multiple sections of current state statute\u2014aimed at effectively repealing the legalization of recreational marijuana sales that voters passed in 2016.<\/p>\n Possession of up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis by adults 21 and older would remain legal under the proposal, but a section of the law permitting home cultivation would be repealed. Medical marijuana sales and home cultivation would remain legal.<\/p>\n Madison Carey, who was listed as the chief petitioner of the original version of the repeal initiative and remains involved in the current campaign, told Marijuana Moment last week that \u201cthere needs to be regulations on marijuana,\u201d arguing that her experience recovering from an opioid misuse disorder speaks to the insufficiency of current law.<\/p>\n \u201cMy hope is to just bring awareness to the reality of the potential dangers of not having regulations,\u201d she said. \u201cI think people are fed up with the constant use\u2014the constant [retail businesses] coming up where people can now legally purchase marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, repealing the voter-approved law that enacted a system of licensed adult-use sales would eliminate the current regulatory infrastructure that\u2019s in place, which reform advocates argue helps mitigate the public health and safety risks associated with the illicit market.<\/p>\n Rep. David Boyer (R), who led the fight to pass the cannabis legalization initiative on Maine\u2019s ballot in 2016 when he was a staffer for the Marijuana Policy Project, said voters should refuse to sign petitions for the new initiative.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t sign away Maine\u2019s progress\u2014decline to sign this misguided repeal initiative,\u201d he told Marijuana Moment last week. \u201cRepealing cannabis legalization would shutter an industry bigger than lobsters, potatoes and blueberries put together, costing jobs, revenue and economic growth for our state.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the new measure, the director of the Office of Cannabis Policy would face a mandate to \u201cpromote the health and well-being of the people of the state and advance policies that protect public health and safety, emphasizing the health and well-being of minors, as priority considerations in performing all duties.\u201d<\/p>\n They would also have to \u201censure that qualifying patients maintain access to high-quality, effective and affordable cannabis for medical use under this Act.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the proposal, the Department of Administrative and Financial Services would be required to create a testing program for cannabis products, requiring dispensaries and caregivers to submit such products to a licensed facility for a safety assessment before they\u2019re distributed to qualified patients.<\/p>\n The testing facility would need to \u201censure that the cannabis or cannabis product does not exceed the maximum level of allowable contamination for any contaminant that is injurious to health and for which testing is required and to ensure correct labeling.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe department shall adopt rules establishing a testing program pursuant to this section, rules identifying the types of contaminants that are injurious to health for which cannabis and cannabis products must be tested under this chapter and rules regarding the maximum level of allowable contamination for each contaminant,\u201d the ballot\u00a0initiative<\/a>\u00a0text states.<\/p>\n Further, regulators would need to administer a system for tracking cannabis plants from seedings to the point of retail sale or disposal. That system would have to \u201callow for cannabis plants at the stage of cultivation and upon transfer from the stage of cultivation to another registrant to be tracked by group.\u201d<\/p>\n Activists must submit at least 67,682 valid voter signatures by February 2, 2026 in order to qualify for next year\u2019s ballot. If approved by voters, the initiative would take effect beginning on January 1, 2028.<\/p>\n \u2014 Maine legislators in June rejected a bill to\u00a0legalize possession of up to one ounce of psilocybin<\/a>\u00a0by adults 21 and older.<\/p>\n That followed a separate effort in the state last year to\u00a0legalize psilocybin and allow adults to access the psychedelic at state-licensed facilities<\/a>. But lawmakers watered down that bill\u2014amending it to create a commission to further explore the reform instead\u2014and it ultimately did not pass.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Maine lawmakers in February\u00a0voted to investigate possible conflicts of interest by a top marijuana official<\/a>.<\/p>\n And last year, a law took effect\u00a0allowing\u00a0people to\u00a0apply to have records of now-legal marijuana crimes sealed<\/a>.<\/p>\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Maine Initiative To Roll Back Marijuana Legalization Is \u2018Really Dumb,\u2019 GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Says<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A Republican gubernatorial candidate in Maine is imploring voters not to sign a petition to put a \u201creally dumb\u201d initiative on next year\u2019s ballot that would roll back the state\u2019s adult-use marijuana legalization law. The measure, if approved, would also revise the regulatory structure of the medical cannabis program byContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":84832,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84831"}],"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=84831"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84833,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84831\/revisions\/84833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMarijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-34.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
\nRead More: Maine Initiative To Roll Back Marijuana Legalization Is \u2018Really Dumb,\u2019 GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Says<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"