Maine’s Two Pot Legalization Groups Combine Into One

Two competing groups, the national Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol  and Maine's own Legalize Maine, will now join forces in their quest to collect enough signatures to get the legalization question on the November 2016 ballot.

Each group's mission was to collect 61,000 signatures from Maine registered voters by January 2016.  According to an article in the Portland Press Herald today, each group has come close to 40,000 signatures apiece.

If enough signatures are collected, and if the majority of Maine voters pass the cause, then recreational marijuana would become legal sometime in 2017.

Paul McCarrier, president of Legalize Maine said, "Either of these campaigns could be successful on their own, but together we can put our best feet forward in 2016."

"Joining forces is the best step forward, not only for our respective campaigns, but for Maine as a whole,” said David Boyer, campaign manager for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.

A poll by a Portland firm has found that 65% of Mainers support the legalization of recreational marijuana.  If voters here in Maine pass the question this November, then Maine would join Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Washington D.C. in making recreational marijuana legal.