Press and social media toolkit — Maine

Sample letter to the editor (generally limited to 150-200 words; check with your local paper for details):

This November, voters in Maine will choose whether or not to legalize pot in our state. What the out-of-state funders who are pushing this aren’t telling us, however, is that the initiative would create hundreds of neighborhood pot shops selling kid-friendly pot products like lollipops and gummy bears that are easily mistaken for ordinary candy. It would also open up “pot bars,” allowing people to even consume right on the spot. And perhaps worst of all, it would create a corporate “Big Tobacco”-like industry with the goal of making a few people rich.

Since Colorado legalized marijuana, it has the highest rate of youth pot use in the nation—a rate 70% higher than the national average. The proposed initiative would even bar employers from enforcing pot laws among people who come to work high on pot.

At a time when our opioid crisis is out of control, do we really want to sell our state to the next Big Tobacco? Voters should reject marijuana legalization in November.

Sample op-ed column (usually a good deal longer than a letter to the editor; check with your local paper for details):

This November, voters in Maine will choose whether or not to legalize pot in our state. . What the out-of-state special interests financing this effort aren’t telling us is that this ballot initiative would create hundreds of neighborhood pot shops selling kid-friendly pot products like lollipops and gummy bears, easily mistaken for ordinary candy. It would also create a corporate “Big Tobacco”-like industry with the goal of making a few people rich.

The initiative is written so broadly, it would even allow for “pot bars,” that is, a place people could consume pot right on the spot. It would provide no effective regulation on marijuana advertising or edibles. That means that local pot shops could sell and promote pot candies, ice creams, sodas, and highly pure marijuana “waxes.”

Massachusetts should learn from states like Colorado that legalized pot. Since Colorado legalized marijuana, it has the highest rate of youth pot use in the nation—a rate 70% higher than the national average. There, marijuana use is now number one in the country among teenagers. Parkview Hospital Emergency Room in Colorado wrote recently that since recreational marijuana has been legal in that state, the hospital has seen a 51% increase in children 18 and under that test positive for marijuana. Nearly half of all newborns born in that hospital also tested positive for pre-natal marijuana exposure.

At a time when our opioid epidemic is out of control, do we really want more drug problems? Maine should reject legal pot.

Examples of social media content for Twitter, Facebook, and other sites (all of the below are Twitter friendly — 140 characters or less):

• Maine has an opioid problem, but some people want to legalize another drug? Legal pot will make things worse. Vote No this November!

• Maine’s proposed pot law would allow for pot shops in our neighborhoods selling pot candy. Not good for our state. Vote No this November!

• Maine’s proposed pot law creates a new “Big Tobacco” with the goal of making a few people rich. Not the Maine way. Vote No this November!