www.marijuanamoment.net Open in urlscan Pro
2606:4700:3032::6815:17e7  Public Scan

URL: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/maine-bill-to-address-illicit-marijuana-operations-is-racist-and-unconstitutional-advocates-say/
Submission Tags: international law united nations nato human rights constitution kangaroo court Search All
Submission: On February 24 via manual from US — Scanned from NL

Form analysis 3 forms found in the DOM

GET https://www.marijuanamoment.net/

<form method="get" id="searchform" action="https://www.marijuanamoment.net/">
  <input type="text" name="s" id="s" value="Search" onfocus="if (this.value == &quot;Search&quot;) { this.value = &quot;&quot;; }" onblur="if (this.value == &quot;&quot;) { this.value = &quot;Search&quot;; }">
  <input type="hidden" id="searchsubmit" value="Search">
</form>

POST

<form id="mc4wp-form-2" class="mc4wp-form mc4wp-form-869" method="post" data-id="869" data-name="Marijuana News In Your Inbox">
  <div class="mc4wp-form-fields">Get our daily newsletter. <p>
      <label>Email address: </label>
      <input type="email" name="EMAIL" placeholder="Your email address" required="">
    </p>
    <p>
      <input type="submit" value="Sign up">
    </p>
  </div><label style="display: none !important;">Leave this field empty if you're human: <input type="text" name="_mc4wp_honeypot" value="" tabindex="-1" autocomplete="off"></label><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_timestamp"
    value="1708746462"><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_form_id" value="869"><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_form_element_id" value="mc4wp-form-2">
  <div class="mc4wp-response"></div>
</form>

POST

<form id="mc4wp-form-3" class="mc4wp-form mc4wp-form-869" method="post" data-id="869" data-name="Marijuana News In Your Inbox">
  <div class="mc4wp-form-fields">Get our daily newsletter. <p>
      <label>Email address: </label>
      <input type="email" name="EMAIL" placeholder="Your email address" required="">
    </p>
    <p>
      <input type="submit" value="Sign up">
    </p>
  </div><label style="display: none !important;">Leave this field empty if you're human: <input type="text" name="_mc4wp_honeypot" value="" tabindex="-1" autocomplete="off"></label><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_timestamp"
    value="1708746462"><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_form_id" value="869"><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_form_element_id" value="mc4wp-form-3">
  <div class="mc4wp-response"></div>
</form>

Text Content

 * Politics
 * Science & Health
 * Culture
 * Business
 * Video
 * Newsletter
   * Subscribe
 * Remove Ads
 * Bill Tracking
   * About
   * Login Instructions
   * All 2024 Cannabis Bills
   * Bill Hearing Calendar
 * About Marijuana Moment
   * Support Marijuana Moment
   * Subscribe To Newsletter

Connect with us
 * 
 * 
 * 


MARIJUANA MOMENT

MAINE BILL TO ADDRESS ILLICIT MARIJUANA OPERATIONS IS ‘RACIST’ AND
‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL,’ ADVOCATES SAY


 * Politics
   
    * Oregon Democrats Strike Deal On New Criminal Penalties For Drug Possession
   
    * Virginia Compromise Bill To Legalize Retail Marijuana Sales Clears Senate
      Panel, One Day After Advancing In House
   
    * Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary ‘Excited’ To Regulate Marijuana Under
      Governor’s Plan, Saying State Is ‘Really Good At Growing Things’
   
    * Maine Bill To Address Illicit Marijuana Operations Is ‘Racist’ And
      ‘Unconstitutional,’ Advocates Say
   
    * Congresswoman Says Marijuana Rescheduling Could Set Full Federal
      Legalization Back ‘Another 50 Years’

 * Science & Health
   
    * Psilocybin Mushrooms May Date To The Time Of The Dinosaurs (Or At Least
      Their Demise), Study Finds
   
    * Justice Department Researcher Says ‘We May Need Better Tests’ For
      Marijuana Impairment, Questioning ‘Per Se’ THC Limits For Driving
   
    * Marijuana Tax Revenue Should Fund Education And Housing, Not Police And
      Prisons, Voters Say In New Poll
   
    * Federally Funded Researchers Discover Two New Methods Of Distinguishing
      Hemp And Marijuana To Assist Crime Labs
   
    * Search Interest In Delta-8 THC Nearly Twice As High In States Without
      Legal Marijuana, Study Finds

 * Culture
   
    * Rapper Killer Mike Suggests Giving Black People Control Over Marijuana
      Industry As A Form Of Reparations
   
    * Brooklyn Nets And New York Liberty Become First NBA And WNBA Teams To
      Partner With CBD Company
   
    * UFC Warns Fighters To Stop Using Marijuana ‘Immediately’ So They Aren’t
      Punished Under California Athletics Rules
   
    * Treasury Secretary Yellen Says She Over-Prepared For First Time Using
      Marijuana And Jokes That It ‘Always Helps’ With Candy Crush
   
    * NFL Partnering On New Study Using CBD To Treat Pain And Protect From
      Concussions

 * Business
   
    * Missouri’s Marijuana Market Tallied More Than $1.4 Billion During First
      Full Year Of Adult-Use Sales
   
    * Missouri Marijuana Company Argues That Workers Are Not Allowed To Unionize
      Due To Federal Law
   
    * Multiple States Across The Country See Record-Breaking Marijuana Sales To
      Close Out 2023
   
    * Massachusetts Sets Marijuana Sales Record In December, With Total
      Purchases In 2023 Reaching $1.8 Billion
   
    * Missouri Sold More Than $1.3 Billion Worth Of Legal Marijuana In 2023,
      State Figures Show

 * Video
   
    * Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary ‘Excited’ To Regulate Marijuana Under
      Governor’s Plan, Saying State Is ‘Really Good At Growing Things’
   
    * Germany’s Parliament Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill
   
    * Maryland Committees Take Up Psychedelics And Drug Decriminalization Task
      Force Bills
   
    * New Hampshire House Passes Marijuana Legalization Bill, Though Senate
      Hurdles Remain On Way To Governor’s Desk
   
    * Kansas Lawmakers Reject Marijuana Legalization Amendment

 * Newsletter
   
    * Fed job training program’s cannabis testing change (Newsletter: February
      23, 2024)
   
    * DOJ researcher’s cannabis impairment testing concerns (Newsletter:
      February 22, 2024)
   
    * VA legal cannabis sales compromise in works (Newsletter: February 21,
      2024)
   
    * FDA touts cannabis scheduling review process (Newsletter: February 20,
      2024)
   
    * VP Harris reaching out to cannabis pardon recipients (Newsletter: February
      19, 2024)
   
   * Subscribe
 * Remove Ads
 * Bill Tracking
   * About
   * Login Instructions
   * All 2024 Cannabis Bills
   * Bill Hearing Calendar
 * About Marijuana Moment
   * Support Marijuana Moment
   * Subscribe To Newsletter




POLITICS


MAINE BILL TO ADDRESS ILLICIT MARIJUANA OPERATIONS IS ‘RACIST’ AND
‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL,’ ADVOCATES SAY

Published

10 hours ago

on

February 23, 2024

By

Marijuana Moment

“LD 2204 is unwise, unconstitutional, and unnecessary to enforce existing laws.”

By AnnMarie Hilton, Maine Morning Star

A bill heard by the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on Wednesday
hopes to address large-scale, illegal cannabis operations that have been found
in homes across Maine, but legal experts say there are already laws to do this
and critics see the bill as a problematic violation of rights.

Weed shop modeled after subway station opens

Weed shop modeled after subway station opens
A new cannabis dispensary has opened in Long Island City, but this isn't your
typical weed shop, it's actually designed to look like an old-school subway
station. FOX 5 NY's Stephanie Bertini visits NYC Bud.
More Videos


0 seconds of 1 minute, 48 secondsVolume 0%

Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled
Play/PauseSPACE
Increase Volume↑
Decrease Volume↓
Seek Forward→
Seek Backward←
Captions On/Offc
Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf
Mute/Unmutem
Decrease Caption Size-
Increase Caption Size+ or =
Seek %0-9

Next Up
CDC says teen pot use declined in Washington after legalization
00:46
facebook twitter Email pinterest
Linkhttps://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/iVbhuwbH
Copied
Live
00:00
01:48
01:48








 

Sponsored by Rep. John Andrews (R-Paris), LD2204 seeks to create new crimes for
racketeering and expand asset seizure to pay for the cost of restoring the
houses where these operations take place. The bill also prohibits people from
purchasing property in Maine if they are not permanent residents and are
citizens of China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea or Russia.

“These racketeering influenced criminal organization laws exist to investigate
and charge for conspiracy to hopefully clean up this mess,” Andrews said.



The bill has nine co-sponsors, all Republicans.

The Office of the Attorney General is collaborating with law enforcement
agencies across Maine on investigations into large scale cannabis operations
often found at rural properties.

“We hope to curtail this illegal activity,” said John Risler, an assistant
attorney general, in his testimony against the bill.

But that can be done with existing laws, he said; they just need to be enforced
effectively. Sometimes multiple search warrants are authorized in a single week,
Risler said, especially as the issue has garnered more attention in recent
months.



Andrews said the bill is designed to give law enforcement a tool to shut down
multiple operations that may be conspiring together. However, Risler said the
provisions suggested in LD2204 “are confusing and inconsistent with current
Maine state law.”

The ACLU of Maine also testified against the bill, calling it “blatantly
racist,” and added in a news release that discriminating based on national
origin, race or ethnicity violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment.

“LD 2204 is unwise, unconstitutional, and unnecessary to enforce existing laws,”
said Michael Kebede, policy counsel for the organization. “It also unfairly
targets immigrants and punishes people because of where they were born, not what
they have done.”

Alicia Collins, a selectman for the town of Sidney who spoke in favor of the
bill, said the town has already placed a lien on a property running one of these
operations. She said residents are asking her why more is not being done, and
all she can tell them is that a warrant is in the works. She argued Andrews’
bill would allow more to be done.



This story was first published by Maine Morning Star.

> GOP Congressman Files Bill Directing VA To Update Lawmakers About Psychedelic
> Medicine Access For Veterans



Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.

Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our
cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon
pledge.

Related Topics:

Up Next

Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary ‘Excited’ To Regulate Marijuana Under
Governor’s Plan, Saying State Is ‘Really Good At Growing Things’

Don't Miss

Congresswoman Says Marijuana Rescheduling Could Set Full Federal Legalization
Back ‘Another 50 Years’

Marijuana Moment






YOU MAY LIKE


Advertisement

MARIJUANA NEWS IN YOUR INBOX

Get our daily newsletter.

Email address:



Leave this field empty if you're human:



SUPPORT MARIJUANA MOMENT



 * 
 * 
 * 

 * About Marijuana Moment
 * Subscribe
 * Sponsorship and Advertising
 * Privacy Policy

All the cannabis news you need, all in one place. Copyright © 2017-2024
Marijuana Moment LLC ® and Tom Angell

Update Privacy Preferences
A Raptive Partner Site













MARIJUANA NEWS IN YOUR INBOX

 

Get our daily newsletter.

Email address:



Leave this field empty if you're human:

×