Committee unanimously approves Sen. Hickman bill to protect Maine cannabis caregivers and patients

AUGUSTA – On Monday, Jan. 30, the Legislature’s Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs passed a bill sponsored by Sen. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, to protect cannabis caregivers and patients by clarifying the language of cannabis paraphernalia in Maine statute. The bill LD 83, “An Act to Clarify State Policy Regarding the Use of Cannabis Paraphernalia in the Maine Medical Use of Cannabis Act,” passed unanimously. 

“After many extensive conversations with affected business owners, certified patients and regulators alike, I believe this bill is the clearest, cleanest and most straightforward way to reset the marketplace to the day before the Office of Cannabis Policy issued its guidance and provide a modicum of certainty to our cannabis businesses in these uncertain times,” said Sen. Hickman. “Herein lies a solution to a solvable problem, and we must do right by our states’ caregivers and their patients.” 

On Oct. 7, 2022, the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy issued updated guidance that defined many cannabis products such as pre-rolled cannabis cigarettes as tobacco products. This new guidance impacted many of Maine’s cannabis caregivers as it meant they now had to receive a retail tobacco license to continue selling these cannabis products. If they did not or could not comply they would be subject to hefty fines or imprisonment. LD 83 defines “cannabis paraphernalia” in the laws governing cannabis to draw a clear distinction between that definition and the definition of “tobacco products.” 

Alex McMahan, Co-Founder and CEO at The Healing Community MEDCo, which is a retail cannabis provider and edibles production kitchen based in Lewiston, testified during the public hearing before the committee in support of LD 83. 

“In October of 2022, OCP (Office of Cannabis Policy) issued a guidance document stating that a long list of cannabis products would be considered tobacco products, and that selling these cannabis products while adhering to the cannabis laws and not the tobacco laws would face criminal charges, fines, and imprisonment. This caused an uproar in the industry, as many companies had been selling these products for many years without issue,” said McMahan. “Of course, considering a cannabis product to be a tobacco product because it is contained within something that can also contain tobacco, is like considering a Sprite to be an alcohol product because bottles also sometimes contain alcohol. Not only is this requirement completely nonsensical, it actually raises additional unnecessary public health risks.” 

LD 83 now faces votes in the Senate and House.