Diane Russell's bill would fully legalize marijuana in Maine

Ya tax the crap out of it then illiciet market returns!
You will never recoup enough to off set the costs!

Cigarette taxes bring in enough revenue to completely offset all of the costs to the state (mostly medical) associated with their use. Alcohol taxes do not. A marijuana tax shows promise as being one of the only possible sin taxes that would actually show a profit to the state.

Plus we could start growing hemp and see where that crop takes us. With oil headed for $5 a gallon, it's time to start rolling the dice.

" ...it's time to start rolling the dice."

Or something else.
:)

Will Maine Be First State To Legalize Marijuana?

The420TimesStaff | Jan 21, 2011

...Maine Representative Diane Russell... plans to introduce a bill in the Maine House that would legalize cannabis for recreational purposes. (the video) ...also features a Maine sheriff who questions the drug war and the effectiveness of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Source

I agree Thrasybulus.

Are we also going to secede from the union?

No need. The Union is probably going to be joining us soon, Dan.

Until the feds legalize, the idea of a big legal cash crop is a fantasy. This bill is a waste of time.

Just legalize pot. The savings in law enforcement, the judiciary and the DEA chasing same would be enough. Don't create another bureaucratic nightmare trying to tax it. Unless of course, I could be the department head.

charlie

I think the feds won't get serious about re-legalizing until enough states start dong stuff just like this. The medical marijuana law just passed is in the same legal standing vis-a-vis federal law as full legalizing would have. The fact tha CA and ME and other states are flouting the feds is the only reason the national discussion has gotten this far. It's modern day nullification in practice.

"This bill is a waste of time."

Seems shortsighted to me. Marijuana will be legalized. Will Maine repeat itself as the state to hold on to prohibition the longest?

So when everyone in Aroostook county changes to this new cash crop and the price of potatoes and other produce go through the roof. Then the government can step in and subsidize more crops to keep our food supply in line.

Does anyone ever bother to consider the long term implications? Or is everything just a knee-jerk reaction?

I have no problem with decriminalizing it. But these notions of making it a cash crop that will solve the state's financial ills and other stupidity that is said, makes me wonder if these people partook of the substance before speaking...

Virgil makes a good point. I wonder how this measures up as a 10th Amendment issue. It took a COnstitutional Amendment for the Feds to outlaw alcohol. Where do they claim the authority to prohibit something else without the same course of action?

Interstate Commerce. That's not even a stretch.

I understand the ridiculous claim that a commodity produced and consumed entirely within the State falls under the interstate commerce clause because you are not buying it from another state – therefore affecting interstate commerce.

But if Maine were the only state to legalize it then it would be illegal to transport it across state lines in either direction. How then does interstate commerce come into the picture?

If people in Maine were allowed to legally grow marijuana as a cash crop, would you seriously suggest that none of that pot would cross state lines? Come on.

The merits of pot legalization is not the issue. The issue is that the bill would have no legal effect. The idea that it would have any significant political effect nationally is almost as ridiculous given that no other state has done what Rep. Russell wants Maine to do.

This bill belongs in the same category as past legislative actions against the War in Iraq. It is symbolic politics that distracts from the real business of the State.

Dan,

I doubt anyone breathing when the U.S. constitution was drafted and ratified would have understood the commerce clause to empower the new central government to absolutely prohibit (and criminally punish) the mere possession of anything. It was meant (or at least sold to the people as a means) to make the interstate movement of goods and services easier and more uniform. Even if somehow this would give authority to the congress to ban interstate movement of a thing, how is it not a stretch to expand that to allow banning possession of a thing that never once moves in interstate commerce beyond a state's borders? It is a stretch.

I doubt Rep. Russell agrees with you. I know the U.S. Supreme Court does not.

All the arguments you are making need to be made in Washington, not Augusta.

Even if everyone in Maine agreed on the issue, it would not change the reality of federal law.

Have we solved all the problems that the Legislature can actually do something about?

Yeah, like the whoopie pie bill. This new Republican Legislature has finally set some priorities. They must be making sure they walk before they try to run.

"The issue is that the bill would have no legal effect. The idea that it would have any significant political effect nationally is almost as ridiculous given that no other state has done what Rep. Russell wants Maine to do"

As Maine Goes..........

Remember the bottle bill?

Plenty of national change has come from one state, one legislator, acting.
There is always a lousy reason to do nothing.

Chris: Only 11 states have bottle bills.

I hate to throw a damper on the pot party, but with the new farm bill and the introduction of another bill that basically outlaws growing your own personal garden, this won't happen unless Monsanto sells you the seeds.

Given that the pot-suppression project appears to be an expensive failure, there is merit in putting the question before the public for discussion.

War on drugs, war on poverty, have all been great success's. And the whoppie pie bill is not a waste of time, I thought Michelle banned these from our schools.

The only good thing I could see coming out of legalizing pot is that it would knock some of the financial underpinning out from underneath organized crime groups and gangs . But then again the state hates the competition .........

The whole idea of the creating a revenue stream from a product that many become addicted to , and yes they do become addicted leaves me wondering what kind of idiots do we have running the show.
I know!! If they legalize it we could change our state motto to "Hey are you stoned or just stupid?"

Let's legalize a drug the robs people of their drive and expose our school children to it......as a legitimate and good thing.......

Let's legalize a drug that like alcohol robs many of the ability to be productive..........Another cynical and disingenuous "idea" from the people who profit from those who smoke cigarettes........

Is this the best we can do in Augusta????

Can't help but wonder how the vote would go if this were presented as a referendum question to the people of Maine.

charlie

There's an international law aspect to this also.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_Drugs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulletin_on_Narcotics

Supposedly, at least according to the second echelon commentators, one could still decriminalize personal possession for personal use.

Did the Local SEIU Chapter asked her to introduce this legislation?

Cleaning Checklist

Skywriter - welcome to the AMG forum!
:)

Portugal decriminalized all drugs in 2001 - and the situation seems to have improved:

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2011/01/16/drug_experim...

Legalizing dope?? That's the stupidest idea to come down the pike in years. If she thinks that the war on drugs has been a failure THUS far, just go ahead and legalize dope and she'll see what the word failure really means. Hate to burst bubbles here, but dope is definitely a gateway drug; the most common. It is therefore tremendously destructive to people and society as a whole.
As the good proponent of social justice which I'm sure she is, she should spend a day or two at a drug rehab and then be the one to tell others who are teetering on the edge that she wants to make it easier for them to fall into the abyss.
I swear we are just losing our minds. I guess that's what tens of millions of Soros dollars spent on a pet cause will do to a country.

(And Thras, a careful read of the Portugal article does NOT indicate any improvement via legalization; in fact, it indicates increased usage has resulted).