Representative Diane Russell (D-Portland) will formally introduce legislation that would make Maine the third state to legalize and regulate the possession and sale of marijuana to people over the age of 21 at a press conference being held at noon today.
The press conference will start at 12:00 EST at the state capitol. The event will be live streamed here (and below) when it begins.
If you live in Maine, please take a moment to write your representative today and urge them to co-sponsor this important legislation. You can do so, quickly and easily, by using NORML’s Take Action Center here.
You can view the archived video of the press conference here and here.
yes we should be able to have it legalized the medical side has already seen its positive outlook on it. now lets see the positive economic side of it
I am afraid the people will have to vote this in the
politicians are all paid off by the Prison/Police State
and Pharmachutical Industrial complex I dont see
any politician working for the people they are all crooks
and liars and sycophants to old money and old empires.
A peoples revolution is required. Overgrow them and
force the issue.
I’m sixty-two, and I still can’t believe that cannabis is illegal and anyone twenty-one and over can buy all the vodka they want.Vodka is a thousand times more dangerous that cannabis!!
I agree that the upside of the economic value in either legalization, decriminalization or Medical Marijuana would be a very good thing for the states around the nation but I don’t think that’s the most important upside, at least not for the people as a whole.
The fact that you have the ability to actually grow, in your own house or backyard a plant that can help individuals with the ability to increase their appetite if needed, help with depression, alleviate pain, help people with insomnia, alleviate nausea and help with stress is the reward in and of itself.
The very fact that you can have and grow a plant that offers this treatment without having to take five different man made pharma medications is truly a gift, and that’s just scratching the surface.
There are more benefits for people with seizures, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, tumors, cancer, arthritis and the list goes on and on.
That’s really the reward.
Congratulations Maine. You make us proud. Sure would like to bring your common sense attitude to the people here in the South.
The people of Maine are thinking people, courageous people, independent people, true Americans.
Thank you for showing the rest of the East Coast and the South what freedom and liberty still look like.
I’ve been waiting all my adult life to see this movement take off, and I’m glad to see it finally is. It’s just a shame it took so many years to make close-minded senators and representatives to acknowledge the people’s will.
I wish there was a company or someone that could help out people in the states that dnt have medical marijuana legal cause with this cerebral palsy an seizures cant stand them anymore
Its time has come..Marijuana Legalization.. save the planet
I hope that all states legalize soon.Keep writing your representatives and tell them it is the humane thing to do.Tell them that cannabis prohibition is holding America back from being a world leader.We fight over oil that we could replace with hemp oil,opium that we could produce ourselves,and we could replace a lot of other petrochemicals used to make clothing and cosmetics etc.
This would be awesome, maybe it’s time to move a little farther north 🙂
I missed the live stream, does anybody have a link to the video?
If you go here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/misswrite
You should see the video under the “Videos” tab on the right, the 34 minute long one is the recording of the press conference.
I watched the live stream from Maine today. Was taken back when she acknoledged us viewing it, noting at least 418 people were watching it from all over the us
@ Brian,
I’ve also been waiting, and I agree it’s a shame it’s taken so long. But, honestly, this is almost about the time-line I envisioned. I recall telling somebody back in the 1980s, when I was in my late 20s/early 30s, that when we were in our 50s and 60s, WE were gonna be the ones in Congress, and we would finally legalize pot.
It seems to be playing out that way now; and it helps that the young ones today seem to be very pro-pot (and that a few of the old-timers seem to be lightening up, as well).
Hopefully the trend will continue all the way to full legalization across the country. (Across the globe, for that matter, tho I know certain countries will never do it in my lifetime.)
@ Andywallwh0re
I also watched the live stream from Maine at Noon EST today
and noticed that during the first 4 minutes,
(while they were setting up the camera),
Diane said “We’re streaming, we’ve got 130 viewers…”
The more States that join in, the better chance that Congress will have to act. Each State that joins in, has members of Congress in the House and in the Senate who will join together and push for change. These members have to represent their States wishes and stand up for bills that represent their States Laws. This is freaking AWESOME! I’m loving it! As always, your doing a GREAT JOB NORML! Keep up the good work and keep us posted. 😉
I Don’t see it happening. Why?
Because the News media is no longer a representative of the people and will deliberately spread false lies and propaganda to protect thier FCC licenses with the Federal Government. We all know that 90% of the money the Feds take in relation to drugs comes from the Marijuana trade. Its pretty obvious by the way the News media handled the last two Presidential elections that they are biased and under the control of corporate interests or doesn’t anyone remember Ron Paul getting screwed by the top three?
Just take a look at this web site, Rep. Diane Russell introduced the bill yesterday but no one can watch her do it because this web-site decided to leave the video live streaming instead of a recording that anyone could watch over. “Typical”
If you clicked on the link in the article you could see the archived video here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/29454570
A higher quality version has also been posted to youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSQbEIXKs70&feature=youtu.be
MS. Russell has been pushing this Bill Hard.. Good thing for Her. I stand beside her and Everyone i have talked with about this Agree to Legalize Marijuana . So lets get it Done. 3 is a Charm.. being that we can be the 3rd state.