BY
Recreational Marijuana in Maine
Maine voters may have approved to legalize the recreational use, sale and taxation of cannabis in their 2016 vote, but it’s taken the state a few years to develop the program’s perimeters. Now, new rules for adult-use cannabis in Maine have been given the green light by the State Legislature and have been signed by Governor Mills. The new law will go into effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourned. Maine will then become the 8th state to have a fully-legal adult-use market. The state’s rules are designed to allow municipalities to opt-in or out of allowing sales.
What does this mean and how will marijuana sales in Maine change? Here’s a rundown, with information provided by the Portland Press Herald for adult-use cannabis in Maine:
Adult-use Cannabis Licenses
All applicants, including officers, directors, managers and partners of a company applying for a license, must live in Maine and be at least 21 years old. The majority of investors must be Mainers. Only people who have lived in Maine for four years can get licenses – until the year 2021.
Cannabis Security
Door and windows locks are now required for all marijuana businesses, as well as an alarm system monitored by a 24-hour security company and security cameras. Video footage must be stored for at least 45 days.
Adult-use Cannabis Ineligibility
Those who are exempt from applying for a state recreational marijuana license: state employees, law enforcement officers, an individual who lost a marijuana license here or in another state, and those with felony convictions in the last 10 years for a non-marijuana drug crime.
Adult-use Cannabis Cultivation licenses
There are five tiers of recreational marijuana cultivation licenses Mainers can apply for. They can range from marijuana nurseries to grow facilities with 20,000 square feet of plant canopy. Licenses start at $9 a plant for small craft growers with no more than 30 mature outdoor plants to as much as $30,000 for the largest indoor growers.
Child Protection Rules
Edibles in the shape of animals, people or characters are not allowed.
Serving size
No more than 100 milligrams of THC (the cannabinoid that creates the euphoric effect) total may be in any recreational marijuana product. A single serving may not exceed more than 10 milligrams.
Adult-use Cannabis Retail limits
Retailers of adult-use cannabis may not sell more than 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana, edibles with more than five grams of total THC content, or five grams of concentrate to a single consumer in a day.
Statewide retail hours
Marijuana may only be sold between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. with some state-approved exceptions.
The Portland Press Herald reports, that this brings Maine one major step closer to its first legal recreational marijuana sale, which regulators estimate could occur in March 2020 – after the state’s tracking and licensing systems are ready, marijuana businesses get state and local licenses and growers have product ready to hit the shelves.
Legislators are still determining whether to require the state to distribute 12 percent of adult-use cannabis retail sales and excise tax revenue to generating municipalities.