The state has licensed its first testing lab to better regulate and improve the safety of medical-marijuana products sold at the state’s three dispensaries and grown as well by state-licensed cultivators. Green Peaks Analytical, of Warwick, will be the first licensed third-party business to sample and test those products for pesticides, metals or solvents, announced […]
Maine
State decision to open adult-use marijuana market to non-residents sparks lawsuit
Local marijuana businesses are taking the state to court to protect their exclusive right to Maine’s adult-use marijuana market. In a lawsuit filed Friday, Maine Cannabis Coalition claimed the state Department of Administrative and Financial Services was violating state law by refusing to enforce the residency requirement that lawmakers included in the Marijuana Legalization Act. […]
Portland, Maine lab lands first conditional marijuana testing license
Maine has issued its first conditional recreational marijuana testing license to a Portland laboratory. Nova Analytics of Portland must now obtain a temporary municipal license from the city of Portland and certification from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct specific marijuana potency and purity tests before it can convert its provisional […]
Federal mental health grants canceled because Maine has legal marijuana
Because Maine allows the medical use of marijuana by students, the federal government is cutting off $3.3 million in already approved funding to support mental health programs for youngsters. It isn’t clear whether the new federal policy may impact other grants received by the state. The state won a five-year federal grant in 2018 that […]
Maine drops residency requirement for recreational marijuana businesses
You no longer have to be a Maine resident to open a recreational marijuana business in Maine. The state and Wellness Connection of Maine reached a legal agreement Monday stipulating that the Office of Marijuana Policy will no longer enforce a residency requirement on those seeking an adult-use cannabis business license. The decision essentially invites […]
Maine Legalized Recreational Pot 4 Years Ago But There Are Still No Retailers. And Now A New Glitch.
Four years ago, Maine voters approved a ballot initiative legalizing recreational marijuana. Yet, there are still no marijuana retailers in the state. The industry’s roll-out since since 2016 has been impeded by a number of legislative and regulatory twists and turns, including a gubernatorial veto. But few, if any, in this emerging sector anticipated the […]
Launch of adult-use marijuana in Maine delayed due to coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic
The Office of Marijuana Policy (OMP) is postponing the spring debut of adult-use marijuana retail sales in Maine. The OMP says the decision made due to the ongoing coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter to stakeholders, OMP Director Erik Gundersen writes, “Just one month ago, as we announced the issuance of Maine’s first conditional licenses for adult […]
Pandemic puts launch of Maine’s recreational marijuana market on hold
Maine’s marijuana czar says launching the adult-use industry by June is ‘simply unrealistic.’ The coronavirus pandemic has compelled Maine to put its planned June debut of the state’s long-awaited recreational cannabis market on indefinite hold. “It now appears as though a spring launch of Maine’s adult use industry is simply unrealistic,” said Erik Gundersen, the […]
Marijuana provider challenges Maine’s residency rule for sellers
Wellness Connection of Maine’s federal lawsuit seeks to overturn a rule that only Maine residents can obtain adult-use marijuana sales permits. A medical marijuana provider has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn a Maine rule that says only state residents or companies majority-owned by state residents can obtain adult-use marijuana sales permits. Auburn-based Wellness […]
Maine releases list showing who’s seeking marijuana business licenses
After months of reviewing applications, the Office of Marijuana Policy on Friday made public for the first time the list of about 300 people who are applying for more than 200 state licenses to cash in on Maine’s long-awaited recreational marijuana market. The list includes some surnames familiar to many Mainers, such as Baldacci, as well as […]
