Maine published draft recreational marijuana regulations more than two years after residents voted to legalize marijuana and amid contracting chaos. In September 2018, Maine hired a consultant to help draft the regulations, which resulted in a lawsuit from a competitor. Maine is now paying the losing consultant $10,000 to review the draft rules in exchange for dropping the administrative appeal.
Maine released the draft rules in response to a freedom of information act request from the Press Herald. The rules will be formally published twenty days ahead of a hearing to receive public comments.
Five (5) key take away’s from Maine’s recreational marijuana regulations include:
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Maine chose a simple license regime that includes cultivation facility, testing facility, products manufacturing facility, and marijuana store.
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Applicants obtain a conditional license, and then must obtain approval from a local municipality that has voted to allow that class of marijuana establishment or .where the county has opted in to allowing the class of marijuana establishment.
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Except for independent testing facilities, Maine will verify that management and the majority of owners of licensees are natural persons who are Maine residents.
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Maine is charging reasonable application fees ranging from $60 to $500. Annual license fees range from $350 to $15,000.
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The regulations do not provide for social equity programs, social lounges, or temporary events.