AUGUSTA, Maine — A marijuana legalization panel in Maine has voted to delay pot social clubs until 2023.
The Portland Press Herald reports the Marijuana Legalization Implementation Committee voted 5-1 to stall social club licensing. Committee members say they want to wait so Maine can learn from other states and gather more information.
Republican Gov. Paul LePage vetoed a bill that would’ve paved the way for social club licensing by 2019. He had raised concerns about impaired driving.
Social club supporters say legislators should look to their constituents. Maine residents voted to approve social clubs in a 2016 referendum. Proponents have also compared social clubs to bars.
Paul McCarrier, president of the pot advocacy group Legalize Maine, says the social club delay is “one part of a many-part process to get to ‘yes.’”
Information from: Portland Press Herald