Camden Cares sees a fantasy land

One of my most popular columns in The Free Press was “Is Midcoast Maine Stuck in an Anti-Sex 1950s Snowglobe?” (Feb. 8, 2022), where I explored the Midcoast’s festering, calcified conservatism. Case in point right now: the debate regarding an upcoming June 13 vote on whether to allow a maximum of two adult-use cannabis stores in Camden, and choosing whether the stores would need to be located at least 500 feet away or 1,000 feet away from schools, the library, etc.

I’ve been shocked at the misleading, outdated claims and inflammatory rhetoric being peddled by “Camden Cares,” the 501©(4) group that formed recently to convince people that Camden should under no circumstances allow cannabis stores in its midst. Some of the Camden Select Board candidates have also been making extreme claims about cannabis.

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