Campaign to Regulate Marijuana in Maine 'on a Good Track' for the 2016 Ballot

An interview with David Boyer, executive director of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol

By Noelle Skodzinski

In mid-July, the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Maine (an initiative of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)) announced that it had raised $53,000 in the second quarter of 2015. The group had raised another $51,000 in the first quarter, according to David Boyer, the group's executive director, and it has collected more than 10,000 signatures for the petition to get its proposed “Taxation and Regulation of Marijuana Act” on the 2016 ballot.

I talked with Boyer about the campaign's progress to date and what needs to happen to get the proposed initiative on the ballot for the 2016 elections and passed by voters.

Noelle Skodzinski, Editor, Cannabis Business TimesNoelle Skodzinski: You recently announced that the campaign has raised $53,000 in Q2. You also said that you raised 51,000 in Q1. Is this where you hoped to be, financially speaking, at this point?

david boyer_Regulate MaineDavid Boyer: We received $50,000 from the MPP both quarters, and this quarter, while we were waiting for our petitions to get back, we put together a small canvas program to raise money, and we got about 190 contributions from Mainers. So the majority of our total donations have come from Maine, lots of small donors. We were pretty happy with the number of donors we had and getting those people invested in the campaign.

We’re on par with where we need to be to pay for and finish the signature drive. And we will [boost our] in-state fundraising over the next six months, and MPP has pledged more money for TV ads. So we’re set to do this and do it right.

Noelle Skodzinski, Editor, Cannabis Business TimesSkodzinski: There have been at least two initiatives announced to legalize recreational cannabis in Maine. Are you concerned, as some have speculated, that this could confuse voters?

david boyer_Regulate MaineBoyer: Yeah, it’s some concern. Having two initiatives isn’t preferable. We have to collect [more than] 60,000 ballot signatures, which means you need 80,000 or 90,000 net signatures; that’s no small feat. So if they do get [the other initiative] on the ballot, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

We tried really hard to work with that group. They were pretty uncompromising on even some of the smaller points, like how much an adult can possess. Whereas ours is one ounce, theirs is 2.5 ounces.

We just didn’t see the value in going for me, seeing as all the other states have legalized one ounce. We didn’t want to give the opposition the opportunity to say we’re trying to legalize more than double the amount Colorado legalized, and have them say it’s too much too fast.

We’re at a different place on the East Coast and in New England than the West Coast. We have eight dispensaries compared to the hundreds of dispensaries that were in Colorado before Amendment 64 passed. The polling is tight here in Maine, and we need to be cognizant of that fact.

Noelle Skodzinski, Editor, Cannabis Business TimesSkodzinski: What are the biggest concerns you have about the campaign moving forward?

david boyer_Regulate MaineBoyer: I don’t have many concerns. Things are going well. We’ve collected thousands of signatures. And we’ll be sure to make the ballot, and we have the support financially to get our message out there and arm Mainers with the fact that prohibition has failed, and regulating and taxing marijuana makes a lot more sense for our state and our communities.

So at this point I think the campaign is on a good track. I don’t see why it wouldn’t pass next year, when it is a presidential election, and we’ll have lots of young voters, and TV ads and YouTube ads, and lots of different paid media, as well as earned media, to get our message out. So we’re in a good place.

Noelle Skodzinski, Editor, Cannabis Business TimesSkodzinski: When are your signatures

due?

david boyer_Regulate MaineBoyer: By about February.

Noelle Skodzinski, Editor, Cannabis Business TimesSkodzinski: When are you expecting your TV ads to start running?

david boyer_Regulate MaineBoyer: Sometime next year.

Noelle Skodzinski, Editor, Cannabis Business TimesSkodzinski: What can those in the industry do—both those looking to enter the Maine marketplace once it’s legalized, as well as others outside of Maine who want to stand behind legalization efforts nationwide—to support your efforts?

david boyer_Regulate MaineBoyer: They can volunteer to help collect signatures and help us save some money in paying someone to collect signatures. We are paying folks because it’s kind of the nature of the beast. We have volunteers circulating, but it’s really hard to get volunteers to collect 80,000 signatures without an election day to organize around. …

Or they can contribute money to our campaign at RegulateMaine.org—that’s always helpful. You know our budget as an organization (the Marijuana Policy Project) isn’t that much for a single-issue organization that a majority of Americans now support. So the industry has been helpful, but it would be great if they could continue to help out. We want the industry to thrive, and the industry wants to show that they are legitimate business, just as legitimate as the wine maker or brewer. So I think it’s kind of a symbiotic relationship.