No Cannabis For Christmas In Maine, As State Begins Recount Of Legalization Vote

No Cannabis For Christmas In Maine, As State Begins Recount Of Legalization Vote

The hope Maine marijuana proponents had of growing their own marijuanaby the Yuletide is going up in smoke because a recount of the ballot question to legalize the practice will likely drag into next year.

The recount began earlier thisin Augusta. Maine residents last month approved legalizing marijuana by a narrow 4,073-vote margin in an election that attracted more than 750,000 votes.

The hotly-debated referendum question asked if voters wanted to legalize recreational pot use by adults at least 21 years old. Legalization would require a regulatory structure that would take months to implement.

One facet of the law allows people to grow six marijuana plants at home. Supporters of legalization said after the election they hoped Mainers would have that right by Christmas.

The Maine secretary of states office said Monday that results wont be certified until the recount is over, likely next year with the potential to stretch into spring.

More adults are put at risk for using a substance thats safer than alcohol. Implementation is obviously being delayed as well, said David Boyer, campaign manager for a group supporting the referendum.

Despite marijuana activists calls for concession, the states anti-marijuana campaign is determined to prevent Mainers from growing pot as a stocking stuffer.

Newell Augur, an attorney for the opposition campaign that requested the recount, pointed out that much of rural Maine opposed the referendum and said those residents deserve the most accurate count possible.

If were going to embark on a significant change in our public policy, which this change would represent, we should be absolutely sure this count is ...

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