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. […]
maine marijuana
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 […]
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 […]
Lawmakers strip secrecy and extraction rules out of marijuana bill in Maine
State lawmakers stripped the secrecy and extraction provisions from a marijuana bill Monday that would have allowed adult-use businesses to shield some license information from public scrutiny and driven up the price of infused foods, salves and tinctures. The Office of Marijuana Policy got the committee vote it needed to advance the rest of its department bill, […]
Maine now expects retail marijuana stores won’t be open until June
Maine pushes the target date for adult-use marijuana sales back by 3 months, and lowers its projected sales tax revenue for the fiscal year that ends June 30. Maine is planning to have its first recreational marijuana shops open in June, three months later than expected. State budget forecasters are banking on a robust kickoff, […]
Maine’s plan to ‘harmonize’ marijuana programs would wreak havoc, critics say
Maine wants to “harmonize” its medical and adult-use marijuana programs, but small growers, edible makers and retailers say the state’s proposed changes would drive them out of business and leave rural, cash-strapped patients without affordable medicine. The Office of Marijuana Policy told state lawmakers Wednesday that it wants the medical and adult-use programs to abide […]
