He wants the new medical marijuana dispensary law yanked, to legalize pot for the 19-plus crowd in Maine and to give voters a chance to do both on the November 2011 ballot.

Don Christen said the signature campaign for his two referendum questions is still getting off the ground, relying on 60 volunteers. On Friday, he couldn’t estimate how many they had collected.

He’ll need 55,000-plus signatures on each petition, by January.

One question, “An Act Regarding Possession and Cultivation of Marijuana for Medical Purposes,” would replace the existing dispensary law, while the second, “An Act to Repeal the Prohibition of Cannabis, Hemp and Marijuana,” would essentially legalize marijuana.

“The real prohibition has been a scam,” Christen said. “It never drove people insane and it never did cause people to kill people.”

Christen has proposed a $20-an-ounce marijuana tax on top of the state sales tax. He said he believes that freeing it up for personal and business use (hemp oil, other products) could lead to a “multibillion-dollar” industry here.

He also projects millions saved from not having to take up police time or jail space.

The other question would wipe out the current dispensary law and create a new medical marijuana law, Christen said. One of his biggest complaints about the statute is that fewer than 5 percent of Maine doctors “are cooperating with their patients with medical marijuana now — most don’t want to talk about it” out of fear of prosecution or losing licenses, he said.

“That will fix it,” he said.

Christen is using a series of concerts at Freedom Field in Harmony to fund his referendum campaign. He’s hosting the Somerset County Jam Fest there this weekend.

kskelton@sunjournal.com

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