Editor’s note: This commentary is by Debby Haskins, who is executive director of SAM-VT (Smart Approaches to Marijuana).
[T]he Maine House of Representatives made big news at the end of June: it soundly defeated a bill to legalize retail marijuana. LD-1380 went down by a vote of 98-45.
This is significant for three reasons: First, legalization advocates and much of the media keep claiming that legalization is “inevitable;” the vote shows that the Maine House clearly disagrees. Second, the margin of defeat was a full 27 votes greater than the first time Maine turned down a pot legalization bill in 2013 by a narrow vote of 71 – 67. Third, the majority of House Democrats voted against the bill. The margin here was only three votes, but legalizing marijuana was a Maine Democratic Party platform plank in 2014. You have to wonder what changed so many minds.
I believe Vermont’s legislators are also listening to the news from Colorado, the strong opposition voiced by health professionals, and the very personal stories of the Vermonters who have already been harmed by marijuana.
According to Scott Gagnon, director of Smart Approaches to Marijuana Maine, at least one deciding factor was the situation in Colorado and Washington, where the development of a “Big Tobacco”-like industry is becoming more evident. Gagnon also credits the strong opposition voiced in committee hearings by the Maine governor’s office, the Department of Health and Human Services, the office of Substance Abuse Prevention, and the Public Health Association, along with the American Academy of Pediatrics and many other health organizations.
More important, he says, was the heartfelt testimony from counselors, parents, four high school students, and one brave young former addict who testified about their personal experiences and what they have witnessed firsthand among their students, classmates, fellow addicts, siblings and children. It is one thing to see a graph showing how increased availability and reduced perception of harm lead to increased use by teenagers, or to hear that one in six teens who try marijuana will become addicted. Statistics like that are important but impersonal. It’s more important to learn what those numbers really mean, from the people who have been there, done that, and felt the harm.
In the 2015 Vermont legislative session that ended this past May, a bill to legalize retail marijuana was introduced but did not get a hearing in either the House or Senate. Perhaps our legislators were too busy with more pressing matters. But perhaps it shows that Vermont and Maine have more than proximity in common. I believe Vermont’s legislators are also listening to the news from Colorado, the strong opposition voiced by health professionals, and the very personal stories of the Vermonters who have already been harmed by marijuana.
