Marijuana has been decriminilized in Maine. What that means is anything under 1.25 oz is a civil offense, punishable by a $200 fine. The police in Maine are stretched thin over a rural area in most cases and are not out to bother the little guy. The most recent case I read of someone being charged with possesion was a gent who was stopped for driving un-insured. When the police took his license and registration to call in, he began to munch out on his bag-o-weed. Now,... there was a roach in the ashtray, the car smelled faintly of reefer and no one was about to bust his nuts,..(so says one of the officers at the scene, repeated to my husband in a social atmosphere),.. UNTIL the dope panicked and began to chow out. Being that it is very rural here, a lot of people do put a few plants out in buckets where there is privacy. Here,... that can be your yard if you're off the main streets. Under 5 plants they consider it as growing for personal use and it still falls under a civil complaint, although they can fine you up tp $5000 and sentance you to as much as 30 days. Never heard of anyone being bothered for a few plants, though once in a great while they do stumble on to a true "Farm". These usually consist of over 100 plants, but to find the farmer is always difficult to impossible.