Portland Daily Sun, 03 Sep 2012 – When proponents and users of medical marijuana gathered in Deering Oaks Park Saturday for the Atlantic CannaFest medical cannabis festival, it wasn’t the last word in Maine or the Northeast about a form of medicine that advocates say is gaining acceptance. "It’s such a big change in just the past few years even, seeing the wide mix of people openly talking about this and not being afraid of a plant, the communication; more and more people are growing and seeing the actual therapeutic benefits," said Hillary Lister, an advocate for medical marijuana use through Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine, a trade association.

Portland Daily Sun, 30 Aug 2012 – The organizer of a Portland event billed as a benefit for low-income and terminal medical marijuana patients will still be required to pay city fees, in spite of an expectation of a First Amendment exemption deferring these fees, officials confirmed Wednesday. Dismayed, the organizer vowed Wednesday to forge ahead with the festival, saying it’s too late to call off the live music, speakers and food offerings.

Portland Daily Sun, 28 Aug 2012 – There was a time when it didn’t look like enough donors would step forward for Charlie Wynott to meet the city’s financial requirements to use Deering Oaks Park for Saturday’s Atlantic CannaFEST. The educational medical marijuana event is being run on a shoestring budget. "They were asking for a deposit and insurance and whatnot," Wynott recalled.

Portland Daily Sun, 24 Aug 2012 – Over a year ago, Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland, raised eyebrows when she proposed legislation legalizing marijuana. Today, Russell — who’s up for re-election in District 120, which includes part of Munjoy Hill — says she has reintroduced her bill, LD 1453, with hopes of shepherding it through the Maine Legislature in the next session.

Portland Daily Sun, 14 Aug 2012 – A legislator who championed amendments to Maine’s medical marijuana law as a way to bring it in line with voter intent said she hopes the state doesn’t make the same mistakes again. After a public hearing Monday on a controversial rule making that’s now underway, Rep. Deb Sanderson, R-Chelsea, said the state should not implement rules that are more restrictive and divergent from the intent of the citizen’s initiative legalizing medical marijuana passed in 2009.