There’s another effort brewing to undermine a state voter-approved marijuana law—this time in Maine, where a citizen initiative backed by GOP operatives has been submitted in hopes of rolling back the commercial adult-use market.
Almost 10 years after Maine voters passed an adult-use legalization measure at the ballot, a group of voters—including a Republican state senator and a former top staffer to then-Governor Paul LePage (R), a staunch prohibitionist—filed a petition to repeal much of the law with the secretary of state’s office in September.
This comes as a separate campaign in Massachusetts says it’s “on track” to turn in enough signatures to qualify its own initiative to roll back cannabis legalization for the state’s 2026 ballot.
In Maine, the citizen initiative application, led by Madison Carey and signed by state Sen. Scott Cyrway (R), former LePage senior policy advisor Nicholas Adolphsen and others, describes a broad repeal of current statutes allowing for the retail sale of cannabis to adults, while also stripping consumers of the right to grow their own plants for personal use.
Possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana by adults would remain legal under the proposal. And the state’s medical cannabis program would remain intact.
“This effort ignores the will of Maine voters who chose to end the failed era of prohibition nearly a decade ago.”
The draft initiative must be approved by the secretary of state’s office before proponents can circulate petitions, and a spokesperson for that office told Marijuana Moment on October 29 that the petitioners have since “asked for changes to the proposed bill from the Revisor’s office.”
“Once that is back, it will need to go to another office for a fiscal impact statement, and only then can the Elections staff lay out and issue the petition,” they said.
Carey, the chief petitioner, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Marijuana Moment. So it remains unclear what, if any, substantive changes they’re asking the state to make to the ballot language.
As currently drafted, however, the initiative also details a process by which the Office of Cannabis Policy would need to streamline requests from existing adult-use businesses to convert to medical marijuana licensees.
It would also allow cannabis products available in recreational shops to be sold or transferred to medical marijuana licensees.
Rep. David Boyer (R), who led the fight to pass the cannabis legalization initiative on Maine’s ballot in 2016 when he was a staffer for the Marijuana Policy Project, told Marijuana Moment he is “deeply concerned” by the new prohibitionist campaign.
“This effort ignores the will of Maine voters who chose to end the failed era of prohibition nearly a decade ago,” he said. “Since legalization, Maine has generated hundreds of millions in tax revenue; created thousands of good-paying Maine jobs; and replaced a dangerous black market with a safe, regulated system that prioritizes consumer safety and quality control.”
“We’ve avoided the pitfalls seen in other states by fostering a market that supports small businesses and local growers,” Boyer said. “Turning back now would only empower criminal enterprises, waste taxpayer dollars on ineffective enforcement, and infringe on the personal freedoms of responsible adults.”
There have been multiple recent attempts to undermine state marijuana laws in legislatures across the country.
Outside of the ballot process, there have been multiple recent attempts to undermine state marijuana laws in legislatures across the country, generating criticism from advocates, who have blasted primarily GOP lawmakers for going against the interests of the majority who favor reform.
Back in Maine, legislators in June reversed course and rejected a bill to legalize possession of up to 1 ounce of psilocybin by adults 21 and older.
That followed a separate effort in the state in 2024 to legalize psilocybin and allow adults to access the psychedelic at state-licensed facilities. But lawmakers watered down that bill—amending it to create a commission to further explore the reform instead—and it ultimately did not pass.
Meanwhile, Maine lawmakers in February voted to investigate possible conflicts of interest by a top marijuana official.
And in 2024, a law took effect allowing people to apply to have records of now-legal marijuana convictions sealed.
Photograph by Design710/Creative Commons 4.0
This story was originally published by Marijuana Moment, which tracks the politics and policy of cannabis and drugs. Follow Marijuana Moment on X and Facebook, and sign up for its newsletter.
