Maine Representative Pingree Supports Effort to Legalize Marijuana in the U.S.

U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree of Maine has joined an effort to end a 43-year federal ban on marijuana and start regulating it like alcohol.  Pingree this week signed on to co-sponsor H.R. 499, the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2013.  14 members of the U.S. House of Representatives—all Democrats—now support the measure.

The bill proposes removing marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. It would shift marijuana from the jurisdiction of the Drug Enforcement Administration and place it under the control of a renamed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana, Firearms, and Explosives.

David Boyer, Maine policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project said, “This comes at an important time, as the Maine Legislature will soon be considering taxing and regulating marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol.”

In November, voters in Colorado and Washington State approved measures making possession of small amounts of marijuana legal for adults 21 and older and directing the states to create regulations for businesses to cultivate and sell the drug.

Bills to regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol have been introduced this year in several states including Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. Maine State Rep. Diane Russell (D-Portland) has introduced a similar measure at the statehouse in Augusta.

Previous attempts in Washington to decriminalize marijuana have gone nowhere.