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Maine lawmakers were unable to override the veto of the legislature-approved recreational cannabis implementation measure by Gov. Paul LePage, according to several media reports. According to a Herald Gazette report, the House voted 74-62 to override the veto, falling short of the two-thirds required; the Senate did not vote because the House did not reach the majority.

According to Democratic Rep. John Spear, who voted to override LePage’s veto, the 17-member special committee that drafted the measure did a thorough job authoring the measure, which passed the committee 15-2.

“Remember this is not about legalizing marijuana, the citizens have already spoken on that question, this is about responsible implementation,” he said in the report.

Rep. Owen Casas, an independent who voted to uphold the veto, said he had concerns over language in the measure that allows excise taxes to be paid directly to municipalities rather than the state, noting that local regulators would likely have trouble trying to deposit cash of $10,000 or more into federally-regulated banks. He indicated that the Legislature would revisit the issue when they reconvene in six months.

In his veto message, LePage said the measure drew a veto because he has concerns about the conflict of legalization with federal law, the timeliness the regime would be rolled out, and the adult-use law’s compatibility issues with the state’s medical cannabis program.

Maine lawmakers have passed a measure to implement the state’s voter-approved adult-use cannabis regime; however, the legislation failed to garner a two-thirds majority vote in either chamber opening it up to a veto by Gov. Paul LePage, according to several reports. The House rejected a LePage-backed proposal introduced by Republican leader Rep. Ken Fredette to extend the state’s moratorium until 2019.

Fredette, who voted against the bill, anticipates that LePage, an outspoken critic of the law, will veto the measure, bringing lawmakers back to the table in January to extend the current moratorium.

“With today’s vote, the Legislature clearly does not have enough votes to move this bill forward over a governor’s veto,” Fredette said in a Portland Press Herald report. “There is obviously more work to be done when we return in January.”

The moratorium pushed the rollout of the industry until February 2018, but Fredette said that more “rule making” needs to be done as part of the bill and that “is not going to be done anywhere near” Feb. 1.

The measure would create a state licensing system for growers, retail stores, and manufacturers and establish a 10 percent sales tax and an excise tax based on weight for sales between wholesale cultivators and sellers, according to a WGME report. It would also allow localities to pass their own moratoriums or ban the industry outright.

The measure next moves to the desk of LePage who has 10 days to sign it, veto it, or allow it to commence without his signature.

Both houses of Maine’s legislature have passed a bill that delays the rollout of the adult-use cannabis industry another three months and provides for driver license suspensions for people found using the drug while driving, WABI reports. The delay does not apply to the personal possession and home-grow provisions in the voter-backed legalization measure passed last November, which are set to take effect on Monday.

According to a WCSH report, lawmakers did reject amendment proposals to the bills backed by Gov. Paul LePage that would have moved the rulemaking responsibilities from the state Department of Agriculture to the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages, and Lottery Operations. Another amendment would have required the legislature to provide $1.6 million up front to cover the costs of additional staff.

State Rep. Brad Farrin, who proposed the amendments in the House, said moving the rulemaking responsibilities and program oversight from the Agriculture Department to the alcoholic beverage division was an attempt to prevent jeopardizing “substantial” federal funds to the state agriculture department.

The governor could veto the legislation because it does not include his changes; however, Democrats are working on another bill, expected next week, which would include LePage’s proposals.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage has signed the proclamation confirming November’s voter-approved ballot question to legalize adult-use cannabis in the state, but also called for a moratorium on its implementation with could delay the process, the Portland Press Herald reports.

By signing the measure, the governor has assured that as of Jan. 30 citizens will be legally allowed to grow and possess personal amounts of cannabis. However, if LePage and his allies get their way the licensing of retail shops and retail sales could be pushed back up to one year.

In an interview with WVOM radio, LePage said that while he had signed the proclamation “the issue now is when it will go into effect, and I don’t know.”

“That’s going to depend on the legislature because as of right now the election, according to Secretary of State, was positive for marijuana and there is nothing I can do until the legislature gives me money to set up the infrastructure,” LePage said.

The Republican governor called a moratorium “appropriate” saying he doesn’t think the voters “realize what they’ve done” and again called for getting rid of the state’s medical cannabis system in the wake of an adult-use market.

“In Colorado, what they’re telling us is ‘Don’t make the mistake we did. We didn’t tax medical marijuana and we taxed recreational marijuana, so everybody in [the state] went out and got a medical marijuana card’ so now they’re collecting just a fraction of the taxes that they thought they would,” he said.

LePage said that activist Paul McCarrier “is smoking” when he claims that the tax revenues from the industry would be $200 million by 2020.

“He is out in left field,” LePage said. “We don’t even make that on liquor and liquor has been around a heck of a lot longer. We might make $50 to $51 million a year on liquor, so he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

There has not yet been any legislation introduced to enact any moratorium on Question 1and lawmakers have not come to any consensus on potential measures.

Opponents of Maine’s ballot initiative to legalize cannabis for adult use intend to request vote recount, which will involve more than 757,000 ballots and cost the state $500,000, according to a report by the Portland Press Herald. The move comes a week after proponents declared victory for the measure with a margin of 4,402 votes.

Mainers Protecting Our Youth and Communities need to submit just 100 petition signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office by 5 p.m. today to spark the recount. Unofficially, Question 1 passed with a vote total of 381,060 to 376,658 — less than 1 percent.

David Boyer, campaign manager for Yes on 1, said the recount would be a waste of taxpayer dollars.

In addition to the possible recount, Republican Gov. Paul LePage has indicated he might challenge the results of the ballot initiative vote, saying that he would confer with President-elect Donald Trump about whether or not the new administration intends to enforce federal law as it pertains to cannabis before he decides if he will challenge the referendum results.

The huge cost of the recount is largely due to the manual labor involved. Sealed ballot boxes would need to be picked up in each of the state’s 503 localities by Maine State Police, who would deliver them to the Secretary of State’s Office, which must recount them by hand. The process would take about four weeks.

Scott Gagnon, campaign manager for the anti-campaign, said he has received an outpouring of citizen concerns following the announcement of the initiative’s success.

“These Maine voters are encouraging the coalition to stand firm, as the stakes are incredibly high for Maine’s youth and Maine’s medical marijuana program,” Gagnon said in the report. “It is our duty to exercise all rights available to ensure that the final results are a fair and accurate representation of the will of all Mainers.”

According to the initiative text, the measure is due to become law 30 days from when the governor declares the official results of the election.