SOUTH PORTLAND – Even with opposition from the City Council and other city officials, the Marijuana Policy Project in Maine is confident it can get enough signatures to force a referendum on legalizing recreational use of the drug in South Portland this fall.

David Boyer, state director of the pro-marijuana group, said this week that it’s his goal to submit a petition with the necessary number of signatures to City Clerk Susan Mooney some time in July.

A group in York, called Citizens for a Safer Maine, submitted more than 200 signatures to Town Clerk Mary-Anne Szeniawski last week. The question would allow adults 21 and up to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, along with the associated paraphernalia.

Szeniawski said her office is in the process of verifying the signatures on the petition and once she’s confirmed that at least 100 of the signers are registered voters in York, she will pass the issue on to the Board of Selectmen for its review.

In addition to South Portland and York, the Marijuana Policy Project is also targeting the city of Lewiston for a local referendum on recreational use this fall, according to Boyer.

According to Mooney, the pro-marijuana group would need to submit nearly 1,000 signatures of registered voters in order to force a vote in South Portland.

Melissa Thomas, a resident of South Portland, is helping to collect signatures locally and said her goal is to ensure the city has a vote on the issue, no matter what the outcome.

She was involved in the successful effort in Portland this past November to get a similar measure passed and said that while South Portland is “a little more conservative, I’ve gotten a great response and people are just grateful that we’re talking about this issue.”

Thomas supports legalizing the recreational use of a small amount of marijuana because she doesn’t want to be labeled as a criminal if she wants to enjoy a joint in her own home.

She said there are some weaknesses within the ordinance being proposed for South Portland, but overall she supports the measure as a way to keep the momentum going regarding legalization and as a way to highlight the double standard between smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol.

That argument, however, did not fly with the South Portland City Council, which in early June unanimously passed a resolution declaring its opposition to any effort to legalize the use of recreational marijuana locally.

During a press conference held on June 2, Police Chief Ed Googins, Mayor Gerard Jalbert and the group South Portland Citizens Against Substance also made it clear that they think marijuana is dangerous and its possession and use should remain illegal.

But this week Boyer told the Current adults should “no longer be punished for using a substance that is safer than alcohol.” He also pointed out that the police departments have “bigger fish to fry,” than arresting people for the possession of marijuana.

In addition, Boyer said it would be much better to legalize and regulate the recreational marijuana industry, instead of allowing the drug cartels to continue to maintain control of the market.

He said “it makes more sense for marijuana to be a licensed, taxpaying business,” than for the drug to continue to be outlawed.

Boyer said if marijuana were labeled and regulated, then people would know what they were getting in terms of quality and potency and it would take the criminal element out of obtaining the drug.

He said having to buy from drug dealers is what causes the most harm because the dealers are also pushing much more harmful substances and are “looking to get people hooked.”

Boyer also said that having a criminal record for possessing marijuana can follow someone throughout their life, preventing them from getting jobs, loans and more.

In all, he said the costs to taxpayers to keep funding the criminalization of marijuana are just too high.