Signature gatherers accused of misleading voters on Maine marijuana measure

Voters across Maine, including residents of Brunswick in Sagadahoc County, have reported that petition circulators collecting signatures for a proposed citizens’ initiative misrepresented the measure’s scope. Multiple complaints say circulators described the petition as a quality-control or medical-safety proposal, rather than an initiative that would end recreational sales and home-growing.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows told lawmakers her office had received numerous complaints about what circulators were telling potential signatories. Bellows also noted limits to the state’s authority over what circulators say in person, a point that highlights enforcement gaps when circulators allegedly stray from the petition text.

The proposed 15-page measure at the center of the controversy would, if approved, end retail sales of recreational cannabis and end home-growing for recreational use effective Jan. 1, 2028. It would simultaneously add testing and tracking standards aimed at the medical cannabis program. Because the measure combines consumer-safety language with a sweeping change to the recreational market, critics say verbal framing can dramatically affect whether a signer understands what they are approving.

Locally, the prospect of ending recreational sales and home-growing has immediate implications for Sagadahoc County consumers and businesses. Retail outlets that have opened since state legalization would face an operating horizon that ends in 2028 under the proposal. Residents who grow small amounts of cannabis at home for personal, recreational use could see those activities prohibited. The measure’s testing and tracking provisions could change how medical patients and dispensaries operate, potentially shifting some consumers into the medical program if the recreational market closes.

Backers of the petition have emphasized the measure’s testing and tracking requirements and framed parts of the initiative as addressing safety and quality control. Lawmakers and cannabis advocates, responding to the wave of complaints, have pointed to the difference between how the initiative appears in text and how it is being presented in the field, arguing that accurate, transparent signature-gathering is essential for voter choice.

The dispute underscores a larger policy question: how to balance free speech rights of circulators with voters’ right to accurate information when deciding whether to put a measure on the ballot. State regulators have limited tools to police in-person statements, leaving accountability largely to petition sponsors, public scrutiny, and the Secretary of State’s complaint process.

The takeaway? Before you sign any petition, ask to see the full text and read the measure yourself. If something sounds different from what you were told, contact the Secretary of State’s office and local officials so your signature reflects informed consent, not a rushed pitch. Our two cents? Protect your vote by pausing to read.