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You are here: Home / Op-Ed / The Buck Stops Here / Maine, Marijuana and Mass Confusion

Maine, Marijuana and Mass Confusion

November 18, 2017 by Patricia Rosi Leave a Comment

Maine – the land of the lighthouse and the lobster. And it almost became the first state on the east coast to adopt a regulated and taxed marijuana marketplace. Instead, the nation’s former #1 medical program is now left in chaos and cited as part of the reason why recreational marijuana implementation has been delayed. How did this happen? (Insert head scratch).

Maine’s strength, once demonstrated to the nation, as a picture of what a successful, safe, regulated and taxed marijuana program looked like, was overthrown – thanks to one pragmatic Governor and a Legislature that could not override his veto. A failure that has left the marijuana market in Maine in mass confusion, paving the way for a rampant, thriving “green” market.

How on earth did we get here?

In November of 2016, 381,060 Mainers voted to legalize marijuana in Maine. And just one year later, after seven tireless months of work, the legislative Marijuana Legalization Implementation (MLI) Committee’s effort to create marketplace laws has been delayed thanks to one firm gubernatorial veto and 17 legislators. The Legislature came up 17 votes short of the override. With over 50% of voting Mainers agreeing in the ballot box to legalize marijuana, how are 17 people standing in their way?

As CEO of Maine’s largest medical marijuana provider – Wellness Connection of Maine – I was proud when the medical program was voted “Best in the Nation” in 2014. That affirmation proved that we’d successfully educated Mainers, implemented a safe, regulated medical program, and earned the trust of law enforcement officials, lawmakers and municipal leaders.  We built something that was working – something we were all proud of.

So when adult use marijuana was approved at the ballot box, we weren’t overly surprised. Then came the licensing moratorium. Maine suddenly became a place where you could grow your own and consume marijuana, but left no legal avenue to buy or sell without a medical card. The rules were clear, yet, not often followed.

A state of mass confusion

State-licensed dispensaries struggle amidst the multiplication of unlicensed “dispensaries”. Certifications are ceasing. Grey market cultivation and retail operations are populating Main Streets and industrial parks. Municipalities feel helpless, with no control to stop marijuana-based businesses from breaching their borders.  Gifting and delivery loopholes are creating a marketplace that leaves law enforcement stumped on what they can, and can’t police. Maine’s unregulated green market is thriving. There is very little guidance and even less enforcement.

It is a disappointment, that after seven months, LD 1650, drafted by MLI and passed by both the House and the Senate with large majorities was vetoed by Governor LePage. The Governor citied uncertainty from the Trump Administration’s and a lack of harmony between Maine’s medical and the soon-to-be adult use markets as reasons for his veto. It was a bill that would have safely regulated and taxed marijuana sales in Maine, created transparency for law enforcement officers and provided municipal control, and leveled the playing field among operators.

Instead, we fell 17 votes short of a veto override — a deflating delay that leaves implementation looming 2019, at the earliest.

The silver lining:

The MLI Committee should be applauded for its continued investment in this effort. This committee has dedicated thousands of hours to create an open and successful process to fix the flaws and build a successful future program.

The silver lining here is that this Committee will now sharpen its focus on harmonizing the new adult use program with the medical program, which is in dire need of reform.

We all must get back to work to support them in creating a bill that our Governor will sign. A bill that our legislators can support. And a bill that thwarts the unregulated market and creates a safe and thriving marketplace that both recreationalists and medical patients alike can get what they need, without the creation of two separately managed and regulated programs.

It will undeniably be a long, confusing and challenging year leading up to implementation, but hey, haven’t all the years been like that?  We will roll up our sleeves, like we’ve done so many times before and get it done. Education will resume. Advocacy will continue. As pioneers in this industry, we know nothing is straight forward and nothing comes easy. Since day one, we’ve been faced with challenges, and I’m confident that this one will soon be behind us to.

–Patrica Rosi, CEO, Wellness Connection of Maine

Filed Under: The Buck Stops Here Tagged With: Governor LePage, Maine, Marijuana Legalization Implementation (MLI) Committee, Wellness Connection of Maine

About Patricia Rosi

Patricia Rosi is CEO of Wellness Connection, Maine’s leading cannabis operator that’s now a model for patient-centric care on the East Coast and beyond. With 80 employees and over $15M in revenue, the Wellness Connection includes four Maine state-licensed dispensaries with state-of-the art cultivation, processing and manufacturing facilities.

Rosi is a cannabis industry trailblazer. Since 2011, she has successfully navigated the challenges of this new industry, collaborating with Maine state officials to create a solid and sustainable policy framework, developing strong business partnerships and expanding all lines of business. She’s now a sought-after advisor to early stage cannabis enterprises across the US, providing insight on best management, production and R&D practices as well as emerging retail and consumer trends.

Rosi has been honored nationally as a pioneer and progressive in the cannabis industry. She’s on the list of the Glass Ceiling Wreckers: 2019 Power Women of Cannabis by Cannabis Business Executive (CBE). This is the third year Rosi has been honored by CBE: She was named the 2017 CBE Most Important Woman in Cannabis and ranked #3 of the CBE 50 Most Important Women in the Cannabis Industry. Also, Rosi has been honored as one of Maine’s top five female CEOs by MaineBiz.

On the national scene, she is an active member of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) Marketing and Advertising Committee as well as the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH). Rosi continues to support policy work in Maine as the state navigates new recreational cannabis laws. She works with the Association of Maine Cannabis Operators (MEACO), Maine Professionals for Regulating Marijuana (MPRM) and Retail Association of Maine.

Rosi champions corporate social responsibility, creating a wellness culture that benefits not only her employees but their communities and patients in need. In 2016, Rosi launched a program dedicated to providing free cannabinoid therapies to patients in hospice care. The Wellness Connection team gives back each year via preferred rates for qualified patients and donates dozens of paid volunteer hours for community non-profits.

Rosi is also a passionate and result-oriented executive with vast global experience in the areas of business management, team-building, marketing, communications and branding. As a citizen of both the US and France, she has decades of experience as a creative leader at both Saatchi & Saatchi and Omnicom. And she built a small, local creative agency into an experiential marketing leader with national clients that included Verizon, Kraft and Procter & Gamble.

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