New Maine Cannabis Bills

In the world of cannabis, everything is up for debate; as a result, new legislation is always being drafted and implemented. Cannabis has been decriminalized in Maine since 1975, medically legal since 1999, and recreationally legal since 2016 – it was bound to significantly evolve over the years. 

Through its lifetime in the State of Maine, the cannabis industry and organizations built around cannabis have seen an abundance of rule and regulation changes. 

Our patients are always anxious to know about what’s new, so they can stay on top of those new rules in practice. Several cannabis-centered bills were passed in Maine last week, becoming law as of April 26, 2022. The question is, as a cannabis consumer coming to a dispensary in Maine for your medicine, how do these bills affect you? 

As always, there’s a lot of new changes to implement, but the most significant points for medical cannabis patients are outlined below: 

• First and foremost – the term ‘marijuana,’ has been stricken as the legal identifier, with the state of Maine opting to use the word ‘cannabis’ instead. The Maine Office of Marijuana Policy, as of May 2, have changed their title to the The Maine Office of Cannabis Policy, as a result. 

The new Office of Cannabis Policy is still in the process of writing regulatory rules for companies to adhere to, and changes will not be fully applied until new rules are drafted by the OCP and a ninety-day period has passed – all changes likely to take complete effect by July 25, 2022.

• Perhaps one of the most exciting bits of info for Maine patients – Bill LD 1928 expands legal protections for caregivers and patients, and allows us to accept digital medical cards, provided information in the photo in question is legible and the digital copy is identical to the physical card that was given to the patient. 
• With the goal of furthering diversity and inclusion, hiring prohibitions in the cannabis industry have also been repealed, to allow those with past criminal convictions on some marijuana-related offenses to be eligible for job roles in adult-use and medical cannabis work, per Bill LD 1957.
• Bill LD 1827 contains a multitude of adjustments pertaining specifically to the adult-use market, including allowance of curbside and delivery, cultivation process changes, and differing approaches to edible dosing and variance. 

Have additional questions? Contact us at truckclub@greentruckfarm.com or call our store at 207-756-442-.