Indopedia All Things Marijuana
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On Friday, tea party Republican Gov. Paul LePage vetoed the most recent version of Maine’s bill to legalize sales of recreational (or adult-use) cannabis. This is the first time in U.S. history that a governor has vetoed a state recreational marijuana bill approved by voters.
“We call on the legislature to override this ill-advised veto,” writes David Boyer, the former Maine political director of the Marijuana Policy Project, in a statement to MERRY JANE. “Seven other states have passed legalization initiatives over the past five years,” he continues, “and none has seen this type of obstructionism from its Governor.”
Boyer led the campaign for Question 1 alongside Maine-born activist Paul McCarrier. In 2015, the two men proposed two dueling legalization bills, but they buried the hatchet when Boyer dropped MPP’s bill and joined McCarrier’s effort for what was dubbed the homegrown “farmer’s bill.” The farmer’s bill eventually became Question 1.
LePage has openly opposed full legalization, believing marijuana to be a “gateway drug.” However in 2014, he pledged he would support legalization if it passed by a…
