SOUTH PORTLAND – A vote last week to legalize a small amount of recreational marijuana for adults in South Portland will have no effect on how the police department enforces state and federal laws regarding its use, according to police Chief Ed Googins.

This week, Googins told the Current the local vote on Nov. 4 “does not change anything” for his department, which will continue to cite people for the use and possession of marijuana as mandated by state law.

“State law supercedes local ordinances,” Googins added, “which is why we won’t be doing anything differently. It’s not an option not to enforce state law.”

The ordinance, which was approved in a vote of 6,332-5,756, allows those 21 and older to privately use and possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, along with the related paraphernalia.

But, Googins said, under state law possession of up to 2.5 ounces of recreational marijuana is still a civil violation and anything over that is a criminal violation.

Prior to the marijuana vote, Googins said, his department “ran some numbers and found that very, very few marijuana offenses in the city are simply for possession.”

He said in the majority of cases people are cited for possessing marijuana as the result of being caught in some other criminal activity, and the marijuana charges are usually an added count.

Googins said if someone 21 or older in South Portland were cited for possession of marijuana, that person could try using the local ordinance as a defense, but he’s confident any judge would be bound to follow state law.

The Marijuana Policy Project is the organization that backed the legalization effort in both South Portland and Lewiston this fall. Last week, residents in Lewiston rejected the local ballot measure, while South Portland residents approved it.

In addition, nationwide, the states of Alaska and Oregon, along with Washington, D.C., passed new laws allowing the use, possession and commercial sale of recreational marijuana, which are similar to the regulations already on the books in Colorado and Washington state.

The vote in South Portland made it the second city in the state to make possession of marijuana legal for adults. Portland passed a similar measure last November.

In addition to legalizing marijuana locally, the new ordinance in South Portland also calls on the city to express support for ending the prohibitions against recreational marijuana on the state level, as well as instituting a regulatory system in which marijuana is treated similarly to alcohol.

And, according to David Boyer, the Maine political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, an effort is already under way to get a statewide, pro-marijuana initiative on the ballot in 2016.

In reaction to the local vote last week, Boyer said, “We applaud the voters of South Portland for approving a more sensible approach to marijuana. They saw through the scare tactics and misinformation that have long kept marijuana illegal in this country. They chose facts over fear.”

He added, “Throughout our campaign, we argued that marijuana is safer than alcohol and that it’s irrational to punish adults for choosing the less harmful substance. South Portland voters agreed. We hope local law enforcement will respect their decision and stop citing adults for simple marijuana possession.”

While Boyer acknowledged that the use and possession of recreational marijuana is still illegal under state law, he also argued that the local police “have vast discretion when it comes to whom they ticket and for what offense, and there is no legal reason why they cannot follow the will of the voters.”

Overall, Boyer said the Marijuana Policy Project is “particularly pleased with the substantial and much-needed public dialogue these initiatives inspired throughout the state. Our campaign countered decades of anti-marijuana propaganda and misinformation (and) we look forward to continuing that dialogue leading up to 2016.”

Meanwhile, opponents of the legalization effort expressed disappointment with last week’s vote.

South Portland City Councilor Maxine Beecher, who also headed up the group, SoPo Says No to Pot, said, “Colorado’s experience in the last two years since they legalized (marijuana), has shown a large increase in car accidents and fatalities, as well as a significant increase in public health costs.”

She also said, “I continue to (believe) the use of recreational marijuana is not just about adults using. It is about kids having ready access to it and learning that marijuana relaxes you and makes you feel better.”

Beecher added, “We already have our middle school and high school kids admitting to regular use of the drug, a drug that data shows reduces one’s IQ. I continue to say that kids copy what they see at home and legalizing recreational marijuana sets a bad example. Our kids are our future. Tell them no.”

Scott Gagnon, who heads the Maine chapter of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said it’s clear that the further the Marijuana Policy Project moves from the Greater Portland region the less support there is for legalizing marijuana.

“Lewiston voters and a fair amount of South Portland voters recognized that marijuana is not part of an environment that is conducive to our public health and the health of our youth,” Gagnon said. “(And), in the end, nothing has changed in South Portland – marijuana still remains illegal under state and federal law.”

He also said that his group would “double its efforts” in the fight against legalizing marijuana in the lead up to the anticipated statewide referendum in 2016.

The use of medical marijuana has been legal in Maine since 1999, when the measure received the support of 61 percent of voters statewide.