Marijuana legalization question to lead off Maine’s 2016 ballot

The campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Maine drew the coveted Question 1 spot on the statewide 2016 ballot during Secretary of State Matt Dunlap’s random drawing on Monday.

The November ballot will be a crowded place for referendum efforts, with five citizen-initiated ballot questions and a bond question.

The marijuana legalization question will be followed on the ballot by efforts to:

Picking the ballot question order is usually a perfunctory step that allows campaigns to finally start printing literature that educates people on their question, but that could have added importance in such a big year for referendums.

“I think it definitely helps,” said David Boyer, the campaign manager for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, the pro-legalization effort backed by the national Marijuana Policy Project. “Every campaign would probably agree and everyone wanted Question 1, so we’re happy that we got it.”

Michael Shepherd

About Michael Shepherd

Michael Shepherd joined the Bangor Daily News in 2015 after covering state, federal and local issues for the Kennebec Journal for three years. He's a Hallowell native who now lives in Gardiner. He graduated from the University of Maine in 2012 and is a graduate student at the University of Southern Maine's Muskie School of Public Service.