Ingrid Martinez is terminally ill and undergoing chemotherapy. Medical marijuana helps her alleviate her nausea and pain. Martinez, 50, a Lowell resident who worked in medical coding before she got sick, travels to Maine every three weeks or so to buy marijuana.

Although she has a Massachusetts medical marijuana card, she said marijuana costs too much in the Bay State. Martinez had to stop using marijuana at one point because she could not afford it. If she can buy more cheaply in Maine, Martinez said, “It’s there when I need it.”

Although transporting marijuana across state lines is illegal, Martinez is not alone in driving from Massachusetts to Maine to purchase medical marijuana more cheaply. Since Maine first started accepting Massachusetts medical marijuana cards in late August, stores near the border have seen an influx in customers.

That influx increased after Massachusetts officials banned the sale of all vaping products other than those used by medical marijuana patients to vaporize crushed flower.

Pam Edwards, owner of Your Green Thumb Caregivers in Kittery, less than a half-hour drive from northeastern Massachusetts, estimates that 30% of her business is Massachusetts residents. [Read more at MassLive]