Maine
One of Maine’s 2 marijuana programs has a lot more regulation even though both sell similar products
Hashish Cured in Bangor has one entrance in case you’re a affected person in Maine’s medical marijuana program, and one other in case you’re merely a leisure buyer.
You’ll discover primarily the identical merchandise whether or not you’re on the shop’s medical or leisure aspect. However you’ll discover totally different staff and totally different costs on all sides. The 2 sides are separated by a wall that was required to fully divide the companies.
“There isn’t actually an enormous distinction between our merchandise,” stated Brooke McLaughlin, Hashish Cured’s Bangor regional supervisor.
However there’s a big distinction within the guidelines that apply on both aspect of the wall.
On the leisure aspect, staff should be fingerprinted and cross background checks below state laws, and a sure variety of staff have to be within the retailer at any given time, McLaughlin stated. The entire leisure merchandise should be tracked in a state information system and examined for contaminants to make sure that prospects are shopping for untainted marijuana.
Caption: Left to proper, An worker helps a affected person money out at Hashish Cured’s medicinal storefront in Bangor, April 22, 2022. The within of Hashish Cured’s leisure marijuana storefront, April 22, 2022. Credit score: Sawyer Loftus | BDN
On the medical aspect, none of these necessities apply.
The shop displays a actuality of Maine’s authorized marijuana program. Whereas the medical and leisure marijuana markets provide up merchandise from the identical plant, the medical market is topic to considerably much less regulation and scrutiny than its newer leisure counterpart. There’s no required testing of medical merchandise.
The dearth of regulation on the medical aspect makes it extra susceptible to legal exercise, stated Erik Gundersen, director of Maine’s Workplace of Marijuana Coverage.
The disparity in regulation got here to gentle final 12 months after a licensed Maine medical marijuana caregiver, Lucas Sirois, was accused of illegally promoting $13 million in marijuana that was ostensibly a part of the state’s medical program to non-medical sufferers throughout state strains and in Maine. Greater than a dozen folks had been charged as a part of Sirois’ operation, together with present and former regulation enforcement officers, a former selectman and a former prosecutor.
“There’s only a extreme void of any transparency or accountability throughout the medical program, and to imagine that there’s not loads of illicit exercise occurring is simply sort of misguided,” Gundersen stated. “However we’ve continued to advocate for laws that make sense for all stakeholder teams.”
The marijuana coverage workplace, which was created in 2019, the 12 months earlier than the state began permitting leisure marijuana retailers to open, has sought so as to add extra regulation to Maine’s a lot older medical marijuana program. However these modifications have confirmed tough to make, Gundersen stated.
Advocates for the medical marijuana program have resisted extra stringent regulation, and so they’ve typically discovered allies within the state Legislature. Lawmakers final 12 months rejected laws from the Workplace of Marijuana Coverage that will have applied a “seed-to-sale” monitoring system for medical marijuana that’s in place for leisure pot.
“It actually behooves us because the company to proceed to ring that bell and name consideration to it, saying, ‘Hey, there are some deficiencies inside this program that we expect we are able to enhance upon,’” Gundersen stated.
Gundersen stated there’s undoubtedly extra legal exercise occurring, and extra stringent laws might assist. Moreover, extra regulation might assist guarantee the protection and high quality of medical marijuana merchandise, he stated.
Advocates for medical marijuana program individuals in Maine, nonetheless, worry that extra regulation would improve prices, making medical merchandise much less accessible, stated Paul McCarrier, a member of the Maine Craft Hashish Affiliation, an business group, and a member of the Medical Marijuana Workgroup that works with the Workplace of Marijuana Coverage on laws.
“Once we don’t have any information that’s saying that there must be this heavier stage of regulation, that not solely goes to extend prices for the companies, it will improve prices for the sufferers,” McCarrier stated.
Circumstances like Sirois’ are uncommon and infrequently detract from the medical marijuana program’s successes, he stated.
“That, clearly, is what’s going to get loads of consideration,” McCarrier stated. “What’s being ignored, is the truth that we have now a program that’s been working for 12 years with actually minimal issues.”