On Thursday, the Maine House of Representatives passed a bill to decriminalize the possession of all drugs. Advocates celebrated this victory as it comes on the 50th anniversary of Nixon’s declaration of the war on drugs. Following the House’s approval, the Senate also began their consideration of the bill on Thursday.

The decriminalization proposal, LD 967, passed in a 77-62 vote. If the governor signs the bill, it will make possession of controlled substances for personal use punishable by a $100 fine. Maine residents will no longer face the threat of jail time for drug possession. If a person cannot afford the fine, a court can waive the fee if they complete a substance misuse assessment within 45 days of receiving a citation from the police. 

“We are continually trying to criminalize a symptom of a disease. It hasn’t worked. It won’t work,” Rep. Charlotte Warren (D) said. “We have tried criminalizing this disease for decades, and 11 Mainers a week are dying.”

Rep. Anne Perry (D), the bill’s sponsor, said incarcerating people suffering from addiction only affirms their thoughts that “they are as bad as they think they are”. It spurs on the cycle of substance misuse. “We do need to treat this disorder, and law enforcement will be a part of it, but law enforcement is not the gateway to treatment and recovery. It’s a gateway to isolation and suicide.” 

Despite the bill passing in the House, Gov. Janet Mills (D), the attorney general, and Republican legislatures oppose the measure. It will face tremendous adversity moving forward.

Maine’s Senate Considers LD 967

When the Senate considered the proposal, they adopted a different committee report than the House-approved version. They set the report aside as unfinished business, but the bill did clear the Senate committee. Unlike the House version, this bill considers all subsequent violations after the first two offenses to be Class E crimes. These crimes can carry jail time.

This progress comes almost one month after a joint House and Senate committee advanced the bill with conflicting recommendations to the House floor. 

Advocates and experts in support of the proposal, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Maine Medical Association, the Alliance for Addiction and Mental Health Services in Maine, and the Maine Council of Churches, pointed out the need for Maine to divert resources from incarceration to treatment. 

This vote from the House on Thursday represents the national conversation about the need for drug policy reform. Advocates call for an end to criminalizing people over drugs. They are also calling for policies to treat substance misuse as a public health issue instead of a criminal justice matter. 

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