www.marijuanamoment.net
Open in
urlscan Pro
2606:4700:3035::ac43:d621
Public Scan
URL:
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/maine-democratic-governor-and-gop-senate-leader-oppose-bill-to-decriminalize-drugs-and-invest-in...
Submission: On February 13 via manual from US — Scanned from US
Submission: On February 13 via manual from US — Scanned from US
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 == "Search") { this.value = ""; }" onblur="if (this.value == "") { this.value = "Search"; }">
<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="1707853727"><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="1707853727"><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 DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR AND GOP SENATE LEADER OPPOSE BILL TO DECRIMINALIZE
DRUGS AND INVEST IN TREATMENT
* Politics
* Virginia Senate And House Pass Competing Marijuana Sales Bills, Ignoring
Law Enforcement Opposition
* Florida House Panel Approves Hemp Product Restriction Bill Despite
Concerns Over Economic Impact
* South Dakota Governor Signs Bill Requiring Medical Marijuana Patients To
Acknowledge Federal Gun Ban
* Indiana House Panel Approves Psilocybin Research Bill That Already Passed
Full Senate
* Moving Marijuana To Schedule III Would Not Violate International Treaties,
Legal Opinion Says
* Science & Health
* Search Interest In Delta-8 THC Nearly Twice As High In States Without
Legal Marijuana, Study Finds
* Psilocybin, LSD And Other Psychedelics Improve Sexual Satisfaction For
Months After Use, New Study Finds
* New Study Shows How Marijuana Compounds Like Cannabinoids, Terpenes And
Flavonoids Interact For Medical Benefits
* Young Americans Are Five Times More Likely To Smoke Marijuana Than
Cigarettes, Gallup Poll Shows
* Marijuana Use Doesn’t Increase Car Crash Risk, But Drinking Alcohol Does,
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 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
* Michigan Marijuana Sales Surpassed $3 Billion In 2023 As Retailers Smashed
Monthly Record In December
* Video
* Missouri Marijuana Company Argues That Workers Are Not Allowed To Unionize
Due To Federal Law
* VP Kamala Harris Claims Administration ‘Changed Federal Marijuana Policy’
While Using Incorrect Map Of State Legalization Laws
* Ohio Lawmaker Warns Colleagues They Risk Losing Reelection For Undermining
Voter-Approved Marijuana Legalization Law
* Hawaii Governor Says Legalizing Marijuana Can ‘Blunt’ Negative Effects Of
Other ‘Horrible’ Drugs
* Hawaii House Committees Approve Bill To Create A Limited Therapeutic
Psilocybin Program To Treat Certain Mental Health Conditions
* Newsletter
* PA has no choice but to legalize cannabis, gov says (Newsletter: February
13, 2024)
* VP Harris’s cannabis video misstates facts (Newsletter: February 12, 2024)
* DEA cannabis scheduling update demanded by congressman (Newsletter:
February 9, 2024)
* SC medical cannabis bill advances to debate (Newsletter: February 8, 2024)
* Americans more likely to smoke cannabis than cigarettes (Newsletter:
February 7, 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 DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR AND GOP SENATE LEADER OPPOSE BILL TO DECRIMINALIZE
DRUGS AND INVEST IN TREATMENT
Published
3 days ago
on
February 10, 2024
By
Marijuana Moment
Supporters argue that criminalizing drug use pushes people into the shadows,
making it harder for them to get help.
By Evan Popp, Maine Morning Star
Maine saw a reduction in the number of overdose deaths in 2023. But with
hundreds upon hundreds of drug-related deaths last year, advocates and lawmakers
say the state is still in the midst of a serious crisis.
States That Legalized Marijuana See Massive Reduction in Tobacco Use
States That Legalized Marijuana See Massive Reduction in Tobacco Use
Legalizing marijuana has had a major impact in tobacco consumption. Despite what
many experts thought, a new study published in the Journal of Health Economics
concluded that state-level cannabis reforms are mostly associated with “small,
occasionally significant longer-run declines in adult tobacco use.” Veuer’s
Maria Mercedes Galuppo has the story.
More Videos
0 seconds of 43 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
Study finds cannabis increases productivity when working out
02:07
facebook twitter Email pinterest
Linkhttps://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/mNgCnpyB
Copied
Live
00:00
03:02
00:43
In total, there were 607 confirmed or suspected overdose deaths in 2023, a 16
percent drop from the record total of 723 in 2022. Along with the 607 deaths,
there were 9,047 confirmed nonfatal overdoses last year (compared to 9,760 in
2022).
“I think it’s hard to talk about this because that’s still 607 people who died
last year and I don’t want to celebrate that whatsoever,” said Courtney
Gary-Allen, organizing director of the Maine Recovery Advocacy Project. “That
being said, there is a reduction, and I think we should be proud of the work
that we’ve all collectively done on this issue.”
Gary-Allen cited investments in treatment by Gov. Janet Mills’ administration,
the bipartisan consensus that substance use is a serious crisis that needs to be
addressed, and the passage of the Good Samaritan law—which created enhanced
protections from prosecution at the scene of an overdose to encourage people to
call for help—as possible reasons for the reduction in deaths in 2023. Others
have also cited the increased availability of the opioid overdose reversal
naloxone.
Still, Gary-Allen said there is much more to do to address the overdose
epidemic.
“I still have the faces in my head” of those who have died from drug overdoses,
she said.
One proposal, backed by advocates in the recovery community and sponsored by
Rep. Lydia Crafts (D-Newcastle), is to decriminalize the personal possession of
illegal drugs and invest in an array of treatment options.
Supporters of the measure argue that criminalizing drug use pushes people into
the shadows, making it harder for them to get help. Policing drug use and
imprisoning people for substance use-related crimes also takes money away from a
treatment-based approach, proponents of the bill say.
In all, policy analysts estimate the state could save around $45 million a year
from not punishing people for possession of small amounts of drugs. Under the
terms of the proposal, that money would then be invested into expanding what
advocates say are often scant treatment options around the state.
Proposal faces pushback
The decriminalization bill is opposed by Mills, who has expressed qualms about
the feasibility of the measure’s proposed expansion of the treatment system. A
representative from the governor’s office also said at a hearing in January
that, “At a time when…street drugs are the most lethal they have ever been,”
decriminalization is not something Mills can support.
Mills, a Democrat, has often been skeptical of further-reaching drug policy and
criminal justice reforms.
Although the decriminalization bill is being co-sponsored by Republicans such as
House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham of Winter Harbor and Reps. Lucas
Lanigan of Sanford and David Boyer of Poland, the bill may also face a frosty
reception from other members of the GOP.
At a press conference Tuesday, Republican Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart of
Aroostook expressed skepticism about the proposal.
“I think there’s been a general unwillingness to go that far,” Stewart said. “I
think that’s kind of the other end of the spectrum here. There’s a middle ground
that involves certainly holding people accountable and definitely those that are
engaging in dealing [drugs].”
At that same event, Faulkingham argued that the GOP can’t exclusively promote
punishment of drug use.
“The image you’ve seen in the past is that Republicans are the party that’s only
about enforcement, drug enforcement,” he said. “But I think from this point
forward, what you’re going to see from the Republican Party is a more holistic
approach that takes recovery seriously.”
Republicans in the past have largely voted against decriminalization
initiatives, with Democrats being more supportive, although some Democrats
joined with most members of the GOP to sink a proposed decriminalization bill in
2021.
At this point, Gary-Allen said she’s interested in results. She said passing the
decriminalization bill remains a big priority for the recovery community but
that she wants to make sure the bill can garner the support of Mills and
legislative Republicans and is working to ensure it can. That could mean some
amendments to the proposal as it moves through the legislative process, she
said.
Gary-Allen said another priority is a bill that proposes using a portion of
cannabis tax revenue to fund recovery community centers around the state. That
measure has already been passed by the Legislature but is on the Special
Appropriations table awaiting funding.
Republicans propose other bills
At the press conference Tuesday, Republicans discussed several other substance
use-related bills. One proposal from Sen. Brad Farrin (R-Somerset) would direct
the state to study its substance use treatment system and identify best
practices to address shortcomings. Another of Farrin’s bills would require
education in grades 6-12 on the dangers of fentanyl use—which was the most
frequent cause of overdoses in 2023—and drug poisoning from other dangerous
substances.
At the event, Farrin also discussed how the overdose crisis has personally
affected him. His daughter, Haley, was one of the 723 people who died from an
overdose in 2022, he said.
“We want to bury our heads in the sand and think we won’t be impacted and it
won’t touch our lives,” Farrin said. “And I’m telling you it does. And if you
haven’t been touched by it, I’m telling you, you will be.”
Overall, Farrin said Republicans are supporting an approach to the crisis that
combines enforcement, education, and treatment/harm reduction.
The idea of using enforcement to address substance use has come under increased
scrutiny from the recovery community and treatment providers, though. Such
advocates have argued that because substance use disorder is a disease, it
should be treated as a public health problem rather than a criminal issue.
Still, Gary-Allen—who watched the Republican press conference on Tuesday—said
she’s heartened to see that the GOP is beginning to take a more multifaceted
approach to the substance use crisis.
“I do want to give them credit,” she said. “Over the last few years they have
been good to the recovery community on multiple things. Sometimes we disagree on
some criminal justice reform stuff [but] prevention is something that’s very
important and does need to have the spotlight on it.”
This story was first published by Maine Morning Star.
> Psilocybin, LSD And Other Psychedelics Improve Sexual Satisfaction For Months
> After Use, New Study Finds
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
Washington State Marijuana Homegrow Proposal Dies In House Committee Without
Getting A Vote
Don't Miss
VP Kamala Harris Claims Administration ‘Changed Federal Marijuana Policy’ While
Using Incorrect Map Of State Legalization Laws
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
Information from your device can be used to personalize your ad experience.
Do not sell or share my personal information.
A Raptive Partner Site
✕
Do not sell or share my personal information.
You have chosen to opt-out of the sale or sharing of your information from this
site and any of its affiliates. To opt back in please click the "Customize my ad
experience" link.
This site collects information through the use of cookies and other tracking
tools. Cookies and these tools do not contain any information that personally
identifies a user, but personal information that would be stored about you may
be linked to the information stored in and obtained from them. This information
would be used and shared for Analytics, Ad Serving, Interest Based Advertising,
among other purposes.
For more information please visit this site's Privacy Policy.
CANCEL
CONTINUE
MARIJUANA NEWS IN YOUR INBOX
Get our daily newsletter.
Email address:
Leave this field empty if you're human:
×