AUGUSTA — Legalize Maine, a group formed this week to push a statewide referendum to lift the ban on recreational marijuana use in Maine, offered a first glimpse Wednesday at the law it will ask voters to pass in 2016.

Legalize Maine, which registered Tuesday as a political action committee, is one of two groups known to be working toward the same goal. The national Marijuana Policy Project also has been working toward legalization with the goal of putting the question to Maine voters in 2016.

Paul McCarrier, president of Legalize Maine, said his group is unlikely to work with the MPP because the two groups’ visions are so different. MPP has not yet unveiled its proposal, but Legalize Maine provided several details Wednesday via McCarrier:

How much weed would you be able to grow and possess?

— Anyone older than 21 would be able to possess six flowering marijuana plants, 12 non-flowering plants and an unlimited number of seedlings.

— Anyone older than 21 would be able to possess up to 2.5 ounces of ready-to-use marijuana outside their residence and an unlimited amount inside their residence.

— All marijuana plants must be tagged with the owner’s name and Maine driver’s license number or state identification number.

— Seventy-five percent of licenses for cultivators would be granted to smaller-scale growers, as opposed to large commercial operations. Licenses would be granted only to individuals, as opposed to corporations.

— There would be no limit on the number of marijuana processor licenses.

Taxes, local control, licensing

— Marijuana would be taxed at 8 percent.

— Towns and cities would be permitted to ban marijuana manufacturing and cultivation, as well as social clubs and stores, within their boundaries.

— Towns and cities will be free to either set their own ordinances or adopt state law.

— Towns and cities would need to act on a licensing application within 30 days or the application would be automatically approved.

— The law would allow for the creation of retail cannabis storefronts and marijuana social clubs, the latter of which would be regulated like bars to prevent over-serving and operating a motor vehicle under the influence.

Fees

— License fees would vary considerably depending on how many 10-by-10-foot growing units a cultivator uses.

— After the state’s administrative, regulatory and enforcement costs are covered, the rest of the money from fees would flow to the state’s general fund. Some of the money would be used to train law enforcement personnel at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

— Fees would be set as follows: between $10 and $300 per unit for cultivators; between $100 and $1,000 for processors; between $250 and $2,500 for retail stores; between $250 and $2,500 for on-site consumption; and $500 for laboratories.

McCarrier said he considered the draft rules detailed above to be a starting point and said his group hopes to refine them according to input from a variety of stakeholders.

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