BREWER, Maine — An organizer for a community education series intended to raise alarm over the pitfalls of marijuana legalization in Maine said turnout was low during their first public session because most people aren’t that concerned about marijuana.
In all, five people who were not affiliated with the Bangor Area Recovery Network attended the meeting Wednesday that featured a slideshow entitled “Marijuana in the New Millennium.”
“I think that that goes to the belief that it’s not a big deal, pot isn’t a big deal, smoking marijuana isn’t a big deal, and people don’t think that they should be worried about it,” said Jean Baker, a member of the Bangor Area Recovery Network board of directors.
“But I think most of the people that came here tonight came away with some information that they didn’t have before,” she said.
During the meeting, Bangor Area Recovery Network members warned attendees about the commercialization of recreational and medical marijuana, alleging that marijuana-infused foods and candies were being marketed to children with names like “Ring Pots” and “Pot Tarts.”
In Colorado, they said, the number of medical marijuana centers and recreational marijuana stores are greater than the number of Starbucks coffee shops and McDonald’s restaurants.
That’s 505 medical marijuana centers and 322 recreational marijuana stores compared with 405 Starbucks and 227 McDonald’s as of January, according to Bangor Area Recovery Network.
They said marijuana use among teens is growing in Colorado since the legalization of recreational marijuana and that regular marijuana use by adolescents can result in problems such as learning challenges, increased likelihood of substance abuse later in life and increase dropout risk.
They also cautioned that modern marijuana and marijuana-infused products contain significantly more THC, the primary psychoactive component of marijuana, increasing the likelihood of dependency and adverse reactions such as panic attacks, paranoia and “psychiatric crises.”
With citizen-initiated ballot initiatives for recreational marijuana possible in November 2016, Baker said they will continue trying to spread the information to the public.
The group has identical presentations scheduled for 5:30 p.m. July 15 and Aug. 19 at Bangor Area Recovery Network’s recovery center at 142 Center Street in Brewer. The presentation will also be offered at various locations by the Substance Abuse Task Force for the Bangor Regional Public Health Advisory Board.
The effort will culminate Sept. 23 with a public forum at Husson University’s Gracie Theatre. The forum is slated to feature Scott Gagnon, director of the Maine affiliate of Smart Approaches to Marijuana; Stuart Gitlow, president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine; and Thomas Gorman, director of the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a drug-prohibition enforcement program run by the United States Office of National Drug Control Policy.
“We’re just really at the beginning of trying to let people know … some of the pitfalls that come along with legalization,” Baker said.
After the program, Eric Jenkins of Hudson said he thought it was a good presentation, though “they were obviously slanted against recreational marijuana.”
“They made some very valid points, very good points as far as youth use and underage people getting it accidentally,” he said.
Jenkins said he attended because his fiance’s daughter is one of the children who would be a legitimate candidate for medical marijuana because of a seizure disorder and that they are still working to qualify her for whole marijuana oil to treat the condition.
“It’s very difficult to get it if you legitimately need it,” he said.
Bangor Area Recovery Network officials said they do not oppose legitimate medical marijuana use, but the presentation noted the commercialization of some dispensaries.
According to the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C., support for marijuana legalization is rapidly outpacing opposition with 53 percent of Americans saying the drug should be made legal.
Nearly 49 percent of Americans say they have tried marijuana — 12 percent in the past year — Pew Reports.