LEWISTON — Plans for Androscoggin County’s first medical marijuana show, scheduled for this Friday and Saturday at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee, have been nipped in the bud.
Mike Cain, general manager of the Colisee, said he decided to cancel the Legal Peaces Medical Cannabis Show for fear of angering state police.
“We just got the understanding that the state would not have been too happy with us if we did it,” Cain said. “So I just decided against it.”
Cain said he thinks the cannabis show could still happen at the Colisee, but not this year.
“We’re going to try again next year, but we’ll do a bit more planning and research and put it together, hopefully, in a more legitimate fashion,” Cain said. “We want to do it without breaking any rules.”
Cain said the decision did not have anything to do with Tuesday’s ballot issue. Voters in Lewiston turned down an initiative to legalize possession of a small amount of marijuana for adults 21 and older.
The show was sponsored by Lisbon Street smoke shop Legal Peaces.
Store owner Vincent Gogan said the show was modeled on similar events such as the Harvest Ball in Starks and Norway’s Fuda Fest, which have been going on in Maine for years.
“I have no clue just what is going on,” Gogan said. “I just know they were afraid of seeing fines, and they were scared. They didn’t want to be pro-marijuana or against it. They just wanted to make the money.”
He was notified Tuesday afternoon that the show would not go on.
“We thought they were excited to make it happen,” Gogan said. “They talked with their lawyer. They felt safe. But now, all of a sudden, I’m looking like an idiot.”
Cain said he was not warned off by any specific threat of legal action. He noted that the Colisee is within 500 feet of Longley Elementary School. Maine’s medical marijuana rules have specific requirements about location.
“I’ve been trying to figure out the legalities of all this, which has been quite difficult to do,” Cain said. “The way the rules have been written, they are quite hard to read. I’ve been trying to get a hold of the district attorney to get some advice, but I never did get a return call.”
Tickets to the show were $20 per day or $30 for both days. Gogan had hoped that between 5,000 and 10,000 medical marijuana backers and enthusiasts would have come to the show.
It was going to be a mix of musical events, presentations about medical marijuana rules, requirements and options and vendors. Gogan said he had people coming up from as far away as Pennsylvania and Canada. He was scheduled to have doctors discussing medical marijuana, glass-blowing demonstrations and “fire benders” — performers who juggle flame.
Gogan said there was no mechanism for advance ticket sales. All sales were going to be paid on the day of the event.
“We didn’t do online sales because we figured people didn’t want to see a charge for ‘marijuana expo’ on their credit card statement,” Gogan said. “You know, people are private.”
Cain said no refunds have to be paid to attendees. He said he had taken reservations from 11 vendors, and was in the process of refunding their money.
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- Vinny and Shanon Gogan, owners of Legal Peaces smoke shop on Lisbon Street, were sponsoring the canceled Lewiston-Auburn’s first Medical Cannabis Show scheduled for Nov. 7 and 8 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
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