Opponents of the Maine referendum to legalize marijuana, which passed by a margin of 4,073 votes, or half a percent, have been unable to muster together the 10 volunteers they were asked to contribute to a recount effort they've demanded.

The recount began yesterday morning, which will probably take months and cost taxpayers a half million dollars.

On Election Day in Maine, voters were heavily divided on Question 1, a ballot initiative that would legalize recreational cannabis. Voters passed the initiative, but with a very narrow margin, according to a WGME article.

Elected officials try to undo the one bright spot of November 8th.

Political leaders in several states are threatening to thwart the implementation of voter-approved initiatives specific to the regulation of marijuana.

In less than three weeks, anyone 21 or older can legally possess and consume marijuana in the Bay State. Acquiring the drug is another story.

In less than three weeks, New England will enter uncharted waters — more specifically, uncharted waters for the East Coast of the United States.

Amid President-elect Donald Trump's pick of marijuana legalization opponent Jeff Sessions for attorney general, Massachusetts will become the first state on the East Coast to allow recreational marijuana use as the new law goes into effect Dec. 15.

That means anyone 21 or older — including Massachusetts residents and Rhode Islanders who cross the border — can legally possess and consume marijuana in the Bay State.

Acquiring the drug is another story.

Early this year, a disabled former automobile body worker named Greg Vialpando explained to lawmakers in New Mexico how medical marijuana helped his chronic back pain.

State legislators were considering a bill backed by workers’ compensation insurers that would have exempted them from paying for medical marijuana. But Mr. Vialpando and another patient described how smoking the drug let them escape years of stupor caused by powerful prescription narcotic drugs known as opioids.

The lawmakers ended up dropping the bill, and Mr. Vialpando’s expenses for buying marijuana are covered by insurance.

“I would recommend that people use medical marijuana over opioids any day,” Mr. Vialpando, 58, said in a telephone interview.

On 8 November, voters in California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada approved ballot measures to legalize recreational cannabis. It is now legal in a total of eight states. This creates potential problems for road safety. How do we determine who’s impaired and who’s not?

After millions of out-of-state dollars and corporate interests helped legalize recreational marijuana in three states this past Tuesday, some pundits have said the debate over legalization is finished.

Actually, the debate is just beginning.

A new Congress and Administration are in Washington, and it’s unlikely they’ll be friendly to pot industry interests. You certainly won’t see Rudy Giuliani on the cover of High Times any time soon, and opponents to legalization are more emboldened than ever: Recreational marijuana lost big in purple Arizona last Tuesday, and almost two-thirds of localities in liberal Oregon with this issue on the ballot voted “no” to pot shops in their neighborhoods. 

MA voters have approved the legalization of recreational marijuana, making it the first state on the east coast to do so. As of this morning in ME, the "yes" vote leads by less than 1 point with 98% of precincts reporting.

Kevin Sabet, an ex-presidential drug policy adviser who is now leading the national anti-legalization association Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said, "We'd like [Trump] to enforce the law".

Campaigners who oppose Maine's move toward legalized marijuana are entering their final full day of collecting signatures to force a recount.

The No on 1 campaign needs to collect 100 signatures by 5 p.m. on Wednesday to bring about the recount. A spokeswoman for the Maine Department of the Secretary of State says a recount would likely take several weeks.

Mainers voted to legalize recreational marijuana on Nov. 8. The vote was decided by a fraction of a percentage point, and opponents of legalization said last week that they would pursue a recount.