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Lawmakers support sweeping changes to Maine’s medical marijuana rules
The proposed changes include increasing the number of dispensary licenses and loosening requirements under which medical marijuana can be used.
By Penelope Overton Staff Writer
Maine’s medical marijuana program would undergo sweeping changes under a bill approved Wednesday by the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.
The bill, approved by an 11-2 vote, would increase patient access to medical marijuana by allowing medical providers to certify an adult patient for any medical reason; give registered caregivers the ability to serve more patients, hire more workers and sell out of storefronts; and let dispensaries shed their nonprofit status to better compete in the marketplace. The number of dispensary licenses would increase from eight to 14.
“If the medical cannabis program is a circle, we want to draw a sharp line around that circle,” said Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, committee co-chair. “We want a lot more freedom inside that circle for people to operate, but to make sure that things are not being diverted outside that circle to the black market.”
Brakey ended up voting against the bill, however, because he wanted to eliminate the cap on medical dispensaries altogether. He wanted caregivers who were shut out of the initial dispensary licensing process to have the opportunity to expand their business beyond 30 plants and move into the dispensary category, with all the rights and the responsibilities of that license. The committee voted to allow an unlimited number of dispensary licenses, but to delay the action for three years.
“Three years is a long time,” Brakey said after withdrawing his initial support for the dispensary compromise and voting against it. “It’s an eternity in this business.”
Committee members who wanted to delay unlimited dispensary licenses said they thought it would make the committee bill easier to promote to fellow lawmakers, many of whom oppose any and all forms of cannabis, including medical. Others worried that unlimited dispensaries might drive down the price of marijuana to the point that the small caregiver could no longer make a living at it. Some said such a radical change was unwise with the recreational market about to launch.