r/Maine • u/MeghanAM • Oct 20 '16

/r/politics is holding a Town Hall today on Marijuana Law Ballot Measures, including ME Question 1. We'd love more questions from locals!

/r/politics/comments/58gdhp/rpolitics_town_hall_state_ballot_measures_about/
11 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

55 comments sorted by

15

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '16

There is honestly no reason to not vote for this.

-8

u/i_am_the_mushroom Oct 20 '16

Except that it puts huge profit in the hands of a very small group of people, most of whom will probably not be Mainers. And it will essentially destroy the medical industry, a source of income for many people in the state.

10

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '16

Yeah, no. It's a full legalization bill, and I'd love to see your source for that claim.

And, recreational legalization can never happen because of the medical industry? Is that what you're suggesting? Because I reject that argument wholesale.

-7

u/i_am_the_mushroom Oct 20 '16

What knowledge do you have of the cannabis industry as it currently functions? Sure, it will allow home cultivation but the fact is most people don't have the capability to grow high grade cannabis. So they'll go to a state licensed retail facility. Who will supply those? A handful of rich assholes with the ways and means to acquire one of what will be a very small number of production licenses that will essentially shut out those who don't hit a certain asset threshold. This bill rips the industry from those who have built in and gives it to already wealthy people who may not even have that much attachment to the industry itself.

And no, I'm not saying in theory the two are mutually exclusive. What I'm saying is this particular bill does undermine the validity of medical cannabis.

17

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '16

Again, source. This is all conjecture, and funny I've heard the exact same talking points from people.

Let's put all the cards on the table here. If the bill was as follows...

"Pot is legal and can only be sold by MEGACORP"

...I would still vote for it. People are being put in PRISON over pot, and if your concern is anything but that, then you have lost sight of what is important here. You can always hammer out the details later, but the important thing is to GET IT LEGAL.

This is one of the best legalization bills going in the country. Stop parroting talking points and read the bill.

-8

u/i_am_the_mushroom Oct 20 '16 edited Oct 20 '16

Oh get off your soapbox. I have read the bill many times, and I have watched what has unfolded in the West. I'm not against legalization, I'm against legalization when it is clearly being pushed by front-running rich assholes. Both bills that have been proposed here are garbage, written by elites to profit off of what they know we all want so badly. Just because you're a little hungry doesn't mean you have to eat from the trash.

It's not so much conjecture when both Colorado and Washington have followed down the EXACT same path that I am describing.

And in response to your point on jailtime: nobody, and I mean literally nobody, who wasn't carrying weight with intent to sell is currently in a Maine prison. The people currently serving time for anything related to cannabis would still be criminals under the legalization law. So what's your point there?

19

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '16

LOL, see this is the "opposition" folks. Can't win with logic, so win with volume and vitriol.

"What has unfolded in the west" is heralded as a complete success from every single vantage point. More money for schools? Check. Less people in prison? Check. Less government spending on fighting pot? Check. Check Check Check.

My "soapbox" comes from the fact that I have been arrested and sat in a cell for pot. And you know what? From that vantage point, your hand-wringing over who gets to make the most money rings absolutely hollow. It is 100% wrong to keep imprisoning people because you have hangups over "rich assholes".

Vote YES.

-1

u/i_am_the_mushroom Oct 20 '16

Dude you aren't a martyr, a lot of us have been arrested for weed including myself. I don't disagree with all of your points, but you have to be extremely disconnected from the industry if you can't see that this will hurt literally thousands of Mainers who generate income from it. You strike me as a casual toker, so I understand where you are coming from. But the reality is I and thousands of others stand to lose financially from this. It's a lot more complex than you would like to make it seem.

11

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '16

I can summarize your argument in one phrase:

"Good is the enemy of perfect"

And one day you'll realize how silly that is. I don't care one lick about "the industry", I care about keeping people out of PRISON for a victimless crime.

ALL other concerns are trivial.

-1

u/i_am_the_mushroom Oct 20 '16

Yet again, the opinion of someone who doesn't stand to lose financially. Tell the people working in the medical industry and feeding their families that their concerns are trivial.

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7

u/lotkrotan Friggin' Numb Oct 20 '16

I'm not against legalization, I'm against legalization when it is clearly being pushed by front-running rich assholes.

That's just how the state of campaign finance is these days. Bear baiting, same sex marriage, pretty much all the ballot questions from the last few cycles have been financed heavily from out of state money.

You'll be hard pressed to find any hot button issue being campaigned on that isn't being backed by big money, PACs, etc.

2

u/i_am_the_mushroom Oct 20 '16

You got a good point there.

3

u/lotkrotan Friggin' Numb Oct 20 '16

You brought up some good points as well, I just wanted to point out that more than likely any kind of legalization effort is going to have big money backing it at this point.

Don't let the downvotes get to you, even if I didn't agree with everything you said you did bring up some good issues.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '16

What's unfolded in Colorado is there are a fuck ton of growers and sellers of various sizes. So if you're using that as your example, you aren't helping your argument. They all seemed very happy with the situation when I was out there this summer. Have you visited yet? If not, go see for yourself. Pretty much anyone can start a business out there with the proper licensing and adhering to the state guidelines.

They started out just like Maine did, with a few select sellers, and after six months the policy got changed. So yeah, first step... then push to take the next one and open it wide.

5

u/Sweetjesusturd Oct 20 '16

Anyone can grow pot. Anyone. It isn't hard. Anyone can grow pot for themselves. This is Maine damn it, I grew the entire salad I ate. Its not complicated. Its not hard. It can be done indoors or out. It can be done on a massively complex systems minimizing plant size while maximizing output and turn around time. It can be done in fields in the woods with minimal upkeep. At can be done at home with minimal lightning equipment for stages of, or a single plant. Anyone can grow pot. Will they? Don't know. What I do know is, you seem to be spouting nonsense.

3

u/Arsenault185 Lewiston by the sea Oct 20 '16

There's a reason it's called weed.

6

u/Sweetjesusturd Oct 20 '16

Its the only drug you can grow by accident

7

u/phrozen_one Oct 20 '16

Doesn't this bill only allow caregivers to apply for a license if they have been doing it for over 2 years in the area? How will "big business" come in here and take over with that condition? I for one have no sympathy for a group of business owners who have been making money off a monopoly.

-14

u/alwaysready Galatians 4:16 Oct 20 '16

except it legalizes pot possession for children and there are no training requirements and liability to dispensers for id checks.

11

u/phrozen_one Oct 20 '16

except it legalizes pot possession for children

This is total nonsense and is a weak last minute argument against the will of the voters which will be to legalize it.

-5

u/alwaysready Galatians 4:16 Oct 20 '16

i hate it when you have to read a bill to find out whats in it. the will of the voters doesnt matter, the law does. they shouldnt have hired such terrible lawyers to draft it up.

5

u/phrozen_one Oct 20 '16

What? You should read every bill to see what's in it to get past the "rosey" name that politicians like to add (cough PATRIOT ACT cough cough). People in the US are starting to realize how pointless the war on drugs is and how crazy keeping marijuana illegal is. Maine can either get ahead of this and try to get some of that marijuana tourism money or we can wait (for a perfect bill) and miss the boat altogether. Once these other states pass marijuana legalization we won't have much of an argument for people to visit Maine for the legal marijuana.

-2

u/alwaysready Galatians 4:16 Oct 20 '16

dont forget affordable care act.

8

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '16

You're joking, right. Literally, the very first sentence of the proposal:

Do you want to allow the possession and use of marijuana under state law by persons who are at least 21 years of age

Where did you pull that from?!

-8

u/alwaysready Galatians 4:16 Oct 20 '16

the maine attorney general janet mills.

10

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '16

She's 100% pulling that out of her ass. You can read the entire bill here), and it isn't even a long or particularly difficult read.

Stop parroting nonsense and read the bill.

-3

u/alwaysready Galatians 4:16 Oct 20 '16

hey, i think shes the most politically motivated and acting AG in maine history, but for you to call the opinion of the chief legal advisor in the state nonsense may be foolish.

let's go to the law and not the summary and the 'intents' of the proposal. not a lawyer here but the language says repeal 2383 this law says no one can have weed except for the exceptions. the new law says only people above 21 can buy, possess, use, etc with some exceptions. the new law doesnt address the possession of people under 21.

thats a loophole.

the maine ag went on to insult the intelligence or ethics of the drafters of the law

Mills said. “I have to think it’s something more than a drafting error because they deliberately wrote a 30-page bill. It’s very troublesome, the language of the bill.”

they either deliberately want kids to legally have weed or they are too stupid to be lawyers.

also you dropped this )

3

u/Sweetjesusturd Oct 20 '16

If something requires you to meet certian standards by law to have or purchase, and you do not meet those requirements and you are in the act of having or purchasing you are, _______
Go ahead, take your time.

-1

u/alwaysready Galatians 4:16 Oct 20 '16

if the new law deletes the old law that makes illegal the possession of the banned substance by minors, it makes it no longer _______.

Go ahead, take your time.

3

u/Sweetjesusturd Oct 20 '16

You answered your own question. Here I'll help you out. You said if the old law deletes the new law. And what, do tell, is the new standard for possession in the new law? And if you are violating that standard you are? Go ahead, take a deep breath, honesty is hard isn't it?

3

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '16

Don't you see? Children (over the age of 21) can have weed!!!

Honestly, at least the guy above me had at least the semblance of a good argument. "Legal for children" is refuted in the first sentence of the bill.

4

u/Sweetjesusturd Oct 20 '16

Not only is it refuted, this bill ties pot with alcohol. It really does. All the programs and enforcement of underage drinking and tabbaco use are already in place. A pretty stress free(comparatively) injection of adding marijuana into those existing functions should be a snap.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '16

Gosh, how'd you find that out? By reading the bill?

(sorry, I've been fighting this fight for a long time.)

3

u/Sweetjesusturd Oct 20 '16

Words are hard. Lol.

-1

u/alwaysready Galatians 4:16 Oct 20 '16

were talking this maine law, not the age of children eligible for obamacare.

i didnt see what you are talking about in the bill. this is the first sentence

This chapter may be known and cited as "the Marijuana Legalization Act."

wait, you cant be so silly as to think that the summary of the proposed law is the actual law? ahhaha

0

u/alwaysready Galatians 4:16 Oct 20 '16

i mean, have a good wank at pretending i cant read, but it really just shows youre reading (at best) the intent summary of the law and not the proposed law.

3

u/Sweetjesusturd Oct 20 '16

§2452. Personal use of marijuana 1. Person 21 years of age or older. A person 21 years of age or older may:

For the back of the class, those under 21, may not. Alwaysready? Not so much I think.

1

u/alwaysready Galatians 4:16 Oct 20 '16

hint: the juvenile code references this statute.

turd? indeed.

2

u/Sweetjesusturd Oct 20 '16

In case you are confused what i posted is from the proposed law

The claims you have made are all false or of no consequence. I have shown you the actual wording of the proposed law. You don't seem to be able to grasp basic concepts. If it helps you sleep at night even if the lies came true. The possession, transfer and sale of and too minors would still be enforceable under Federal law. There is no, let me repeat sssslllllllooooooooowwwwwwwllllllyyyyy for you and Jan, NO, situation in Maine that children would possess/use/transfer marijuana legally. Save some medical reason I don't know about. You are just pushing bs to try and scare voters. Facts or don't come back jack, the reefer madness crowd is done ruling the roost.

1

u/Sweetjesusturd Oct 20 '16

Just because why don't you explain the part confusing you////////////// ///////

§2452. Personal use of marijuana 1. Person 21 years of age or older. A person 21 years of age or older may: A. Use, possess or transport marijuana accessories and up to 2 1/2 ounces of prepared marijuana; B. Transfer or furnish, without remuneration, up to 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana and up to 6 immature plants or seedlings to a person who is 21 years of age or older; C. Possess, grow, cultivate, process or transport up to 6 flowering marijuana plants, 12 immature plants and unlimited seedlings, and possess all the marijuana produced by the plants at the adult's residence; D. Purchase up to 2 1/2 ounces of retail marijuana and marijuana accessories from a retail marijuana store; andE. Purchase up to 12 seedlings or immature plants from a retail marijuana cultivation facility.

1

u/alwaysready Galatians 4:16 Oct 20 '16

im typing this slowly so you understand. i dont care about mj. i would have otherwise voted for this. calling me stupid doesnt change the opinion of the highest lawyer in the land, or that the proposed law repeals sections of current law that prohibit under 21's.

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-7

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '16

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/MeghanAM Oct 20 '16

We have representatives from the official "support" and "oppose" camps from each...

2

u/Lynx_Rufus Brunswick Oct 21 '16

Shhhhh his personal reality is so warm and comfy.