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MAINE COMPASS: Medical marijuana program faces uncertainty from new rules

Paul T. McCarrier, Hillary Lister and Alisha Melnick

Imagine that you have Crohn's disease, terminal cancer or chronic pain from a serious car accident. You'vetried all the drugs out there, but they make you nauseated, withdrawn or cause severe headaches.
When you try to stop taking them, you feel anxious and crampy and can't sleep. You're scared because friends have gotten hooked on some of these drugs, and you know someone who died from an overdose.
The one thing that allows you to eat, sleep, or function semi-normally is marijuana.
The cannabis plant has never been the cause of an overdose, and is proven to have a wide range of medical benefits with few side effects.

You've talked with your doctor, who agrees marijuana would be the best treatment for you, but clarifies that it will not be covered under any health plan. You'll have to grow it or buy it.
James is an older man who suffers from pain caused by a genetic disease. He lives in Waldo, off the grid and on limited income, so he can't afford to buy his medical marijuana.
He's been able to avoid many of the narcotics he could be prescribed by being able to grow his own marijuana.

Now the Department of Health & Human Services is proposing rules would require the fence around his plants to be 8 feet tall, with motion-sensitive lighting, more than 25 feet from a property line, with other yet undefined "security measures," making it unaffordable and functionally impossible for him to legally cultivate.

Maine has allowed medical use of cannabis since 1999 with minimal fanfare, public attention or concern. Patients worked with their doctors to get their medicine of choice, but both found the law too limiting.
In 2009, Maine citizens overwhelmingly voted to expand the medical marijuana program, creating a dispensary system, allowing more people to become caregivers for patients, and creating an optional state registry for patients.

Following the 2009 citizen's initiative, a task force was set up that was supposed to implement the changes to the law, but instead veered away from the intent of the initiative. Legislation and rules were rushed through with little public input requiring patients to register with the DHHS and doctors to disclose private medical information, removing legal protections from arrest and effectively banning outdoor growing.
The law was reformed in 2011 by LD 1296, a bill sponsored by Rep. Deb Sanderson, R-Chelsea, which restored the intent of the initiative by making registration voluntary for patients, bringing back legal protections from arrest and ensuring protected outdoor growing in an enclosed, locked facility. The bill passed with unanimous approval from the House and Senate, a rare example of bipartisan consensus.

The ACLU of Maine and the patients and caregivers who make up Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine were integrally involved in both the 2009 citizens' initiative and the 2011 law. Both were explicitly intended to protect patients who care for themselves. In a rural state such as Maine, for many, that means outdoor growing.

We've talked to many people who collected signatures for the 2009 initiative and were regularly asked whether outdoor growing would be permitted; they consistently answered yes. When we were asked by legislators, constituents and the press whether the 2011 bill would permit outdoor growing, we consistently answered yes.

It was clearly the intent of the people, the bill drafters, the legislators and the governor's office to allow patient access through outdoor cultivation.

Given the financial realities for many Mainers these days, and the fact that marijuana is not covered by health insurance (unlike pharmaceutical pills), use of nature's low-cost grow room is the only way they are able to obtain their medicine.

The proposed rule changes would cut off access to a safe, affordable treatment. Many people who benefit from the ability to grow their own medicine have been able to wean off dependence on pharmaceutical medications that were causing unwanted side effects.
Maine has become a national model on how to have a responsible, state-regulated, patient-focused program.

If the rules are enacted as written, it will go against Gov. Paul LePage's stated goal of getting people off state aid, require patients to turn to subsidized pharmaceutical medications, and place unnecessary burdens on Maine people when they can least afford it.

Paul T. McCarrier is the legislative liaison and Hillary Lister is the president of Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine, the state's largest medical marijuana trade organization. Alisha Melnick is public policy counsel for ACLU of Maine.

August 5, 2012, Boston Globe

Maine a case study in medical marijuana

Medical marijuana patients in Section 8 housing will not face eviction due to their patient-status this winter!

The Maine State Housing Authority Board of Commissioners voted today in favor of a 6 month moratorium on implementing their plan that would have evicted patients who were growing, using, or in possession of their medical marijuana from all housing under MSHA jurisdiction.

Many thanks to Rep Deb Sanderson, Alysia Melnick of the ACLU of Maine, Paul T. McCarrier of MMCM, and caregivers John Stewart and Amy Green for great testimony that helped change the minds of MSHA commissioners!

Many thanks as well to patient Don LaRouche for his courage in speaking out sharing his personal story of how this change would directly affect him. His presence at the meeting had a definite effect on the commissioners.

Between now and April it is very important that other patients who would be affected by the MSHA's proposed ban speak out and share their stories so we can make sure that at the end of the moratorium, the ban does not go into effect. If you would like to share your story, please be in touch. Your full name does not have to be used.

Read more:
Maine Housing to Hold Off On Enforcing Housing Ban - BDN
Maine Housing Puts Medical Marijuana Ban on Hold - KJ
Maine Housing Delays Implementation of Medical Pot Ban - MPBN
Thanks for your support, and remember that MMCM members get free admission to Home Grown Maine on Saturday, November 10th in Portland!

The forms for patients to designate a caregiver,
applications to register as a caregiver,
for a caregiver to register an employee can be found at:
http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/dlrs/mmm/index.shtml

Links to news articles about Marijuana in Maine.

Please consider donating to us so we can continue to represent patients and caregivers in Augusta and beyond!

Medical Marijuana Advocates Gather At State House http://wabi.tv/2014/03/28/medical-marijuana-advocates-gather-state-house/

Parents Turn To Medical Marijuana To Help Sick Baby http://www.weartv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/health-news-desperate-parents-turn-medical-marijuana-help-sick-baby-41697.shtml

State DHHS to Maine legislators: Let armed agents join inspections of licensed pot growers http://www.pressherald.com/news/State_to_legislators__Let_armed_agents_join_inspections_of_licensed_pot_growers_.html

Maine Marijuana Growers Cheer Federal Banking Guidelines http://www.mpbn.net/News/MaineNewsArchive/tabid/181/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3475/ItemId/32269/Default.aspx

FinCEN Issues New Marijuana Banking Guidelines http://www.fincen.gov/news_room/nr/html/20140214.html

Maine's Proposed Ban on Kief Runs Into Fierce Opposition http://www.pressherald.com/news/Maine_bill_to_ban_pot_crystals_called__kief__runs_into_fierce_opposition_.html

Maine Cannabis Industry Opposes Proposed Kief Ban https://mmjbusinessdaily.com/maines-proposed-kief-ban-comes-under-fire/

Doctor Shares Experience With Medical Marijuana and PTSD http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20140213/OPINION/140212016/Letter-Doctor-shares-experience-medical-pot-?nclick_check=1

Maine MMJ Job Fair Sets Shining Example https://mmjbusinessdaily.com/maine-mmj-group-holds-job-fair-in-beleaguered-town/

Marijuana Trade Group Visits Beleaguered Mill Town http://www.mainebiz.biz/article/20140210/NEWS0101/140219996

Acton Couple Turning To Marijuana For Toddler http://www.wgme.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/acton-couple-turning-medical-marijuana-toddler-20958.shtml#.UwVw9O0f-pE

Maine Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Want Legal Ok to use more organic pesticides http://bangordailynews.com/2014/02/06/politics/maine-medical-marijuana-growers-want-legal-ok-to-use-more-organic-pesticides/

Medical Marijuana Bills Scheduled for Public Hearings http://www.portlanddailysun.me/index.php/newsx/local-news/11338-medical-marijuana-bills-scheduled-for-public-hearings

Medical Marijuana for Painkiller Addiction http://bangordailynews.com/2014/02/05/opinion/the-elephant-in-the-room-why-do-we-overlook-medical-marijuana-for-addictive-painkillers/

PTSD added to list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana, group reports http://www.portlanddailysun.me/index.php/newsx/news-briefs/9656-ptsd-added-to-list-of-qualifying-conditions-for-medical-marijuana-group-reports

Local Combat Veteran Believes Medicinal Marijuana Can Help Treat PTSD http://freepressonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=52&SubSectionID=78&ArticleID=26993

PTSD added to list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana treatment http://bangordailynews.com/2013/06/30/news/state/ptsd-added-to-list-of-qualifying-conditions-for-medical-marijuana-treatment/

Maine Allows Medical Marijuana For PTSD, As New Hampshire Passes Similar Legislation http://www.medicaldaily.com/maine-allows-medical-marijuana-ptsd-new-hampshire-passes-similar-legislation-247175

15.12.09 MMCM Networking Meeting in Augusta

50 members of the Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine came together for a networking meeting at Margarita's in Augusta on Wednesday, December 9, 2015. Members shared names and status (patient and/or caregiver), stories of recovery due to medical marijuana and the continuing legal hassle of being a caregiver. Due to state required restaurant room size, some members had to be turned away, prompting the search for a larger venue in the Augusta area.

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Charges against Montville couple show tension between law enforcement, medical marijuana law

By Gillian Graham - Staff Writer This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | @GrahamGillian | 207-791-6315 | Portland Press Herald | http://www.pressherald.com 

Photoes by Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

797330 771162 20160127 Hayes 1

MONTVILLE — By the time investigators from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency completed their 12-hour search at the Montville home of Randy and Margot Hayes, they had chopped down 57 marijuana plants – some as tall as 7 feet and visible from Center Road – and seized 11 pounds of marijuana. Inside the home, they had found bags and totes of marijuana and signs the couple were selling pot.

The Hayeses, longtime medical marijuana patients, now face up to five years in prison for felony drug trafficking and misdemeanor marijuana cultivation charges in what appears to be an open-and-shut case of illegal drug dealing. The number of marijuana plants found growing at their home, for example, far exceeds the six flowering and 12 nonflowering plants each patient is allowed to possess under the state’s medical marijuana law.

 

But the Hayeses say the case isn’t what it appears to be – and others in the state’s medical marijuana community are rallying around the couple, saying they are the victims of overly aggressive drug enforcement and ambiguity in the state’s medical marijuana rules.

Randy Hayes, who has a previous conviction for misdemeanor drug trafficking, says many of the plants seized by agents belonged to five other medical marijuana patients who were growing on his land. He says he and his wife were trying to comply with the law, but didn’t realize the plants had to be in separate secure enclosures.

Their supporters argue that the number of plants seized wasn’t over the limit for seven patients because, at that time of the year – mid-August – marijuana plants growing outdoors haven’t reached the flowering stage. So none of the plants was yet producing any of the psychoactive ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol.

The Hayeses and their supporters also say the 11 pounds of marijuana seized by agents didn’t violate the law because each patient is allowed to have up to 8 pounds of unprocessed marijuana, though the exact definition of unprocessed marijuana isn’t clear to them under the medical marijuana program rules.

The Hayeses are scheduled to appear in court again Tuesday. Meanwhile, the case has developed into one of the highest-profile medical marijuana prosecutions in Maine. Others in the medical marijuana community are holding events to raise money for the couple’s legal defense and watching the outcome closely.

“Alarmed would be the big word,” said Dawson Julia, a caregiver from Unity and a supporter of the couple. “If we make a mistake in our business practices, we shouldn’t be thrown in jail for it. It seems like people are getting in trouble for what would be considered a small violation in another industry.”

But Roy McKinney, director of the MDEA, sees things differently. He said his agency handles a small number of marijuana cases – likely fewer than 100 a year – because most of their resources are used to combat the state’s heroin, opioid and methamphetamine problems. The only recourse for a violation of the medical marijuana law is criminal action, he said.

“Either you’re in compliance or you’re in violation of criminal law,” he said. ‘There’s no gray area there.”

INDUSTRY TAKES ROOT

What happens in the Hayes case will have implications for a medical marijuana industry that has taken root and flourished, attracting a growing number of patients and caregivers. That’s especially true in rural areas, where residents don’t have easy access to any of the state’s eight licensed dispensaries.

Maine is one of 34 states that allow some form of medical cannabis. Maine legalized medical uses in 1999, and the state’s first dispensaries opened in 2011. Last year, Maine’s program was voted the best medical marijuana program in the country by Americans for Safe Access, a national group that advocates for legal access to the drug.

The state cannot provide an exact number of patients because it does not keep a registry, but doctors have printed more than 35,000 certificates required under state regulations to certify patients. That number could include duplicates and replacement certificates and is likely higher than the actual number of patients, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. There are eight dispensaries across the state and more than 2,200 caregivers authorized to provide medical marijuana to patients.

In 2015, Mainers spent $23.6 million on marijuana from dispensaries, a 46 percent jump from the previous year. Those sales – which don’t include caregivers – generated $1.29 million in sales tax.

The Hayeses pleaded not guilty during their initial court appearance Dec. 11 in Waldo County Unified Court. Judge Patricia Worth set their bail at $500 unsecured each and set conditions that they cannot use or possess illegal drugs. They each face up to five years in prison for the felony drug trafficking charge and no more than a year in prison for the misdemeanor marijuana cultivation charge.

The Waldo County District Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the case, did not respond to requests for comment.

MDEA AGENTS SHOW UP

The Hayeses live in a 200-year-old farmhouse on Center Road with their two children, whom they home-school. For year, they have grown their own medical marijuana on their property, Five Star Pharm.

Randy Hayes said he has used medical marijuana for many years to treat various medical conditions, including chronic back spasms, because he prefers not to use pharmaceutical drugs. He was convicted of a misdemeanor drug trafficking charge and paid a $500 fine after 22 ounces of marijuana was found on his property in 1998, before the state’s medical marijuana program was in place. He said he had the marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Margot Hayes, 46, has no criminal record. She said she is certified as a medical marijuana patient under a qualifying chronic eye condition, but also finds medical cannabis useful for other ailments.

Until the raid last August, they grew their plants in their side yard, separated from the road by an 8-foot picket fence. Randy Hayes, a 57-year-old former selectman, allowed five friends who are also patients to grow their plants in his yard, free of charge. He said he was teaching them how to grow their own medicine.

Their plants caught the attention of two special agents with the MDEA as they drove down Center Road on Aug. 18. They pulled into the driveway of the Hayes home to talk to the homeowner about the plants, which could be seen over the top of the fence that separated the yard from the road, according to an MDEA investigative report. Randy Hayes told the agents he and his wife were medical marijuana patients.

“(Randy) Hayes was told that the best case scenario is that Hayes shows us that his plants were in compliance. Hayes was told that from where we were standing if Hayes wasn’t perfectly in compliance, he was close, and we would shake hands and leave,” Special Agent Max King wrote in an investigative report. “But if there were vast violations we would handle it differently.”

Randy Hayes walked the investigating agents around the edge of his property where the marijuana plants were growing, but the area was not entirely surrounded by fencing as required, according to the MDEA report. He declined to consent to a search. Agents instead secured a search warrant because of the plants that were visible from the road.

During the search, investigators found 57 marijuana plants in the yard and on a deck, drying marijuana hanging in the barn and what agents described as “loose” marijuana in jars, bags and a plastic tote in various rooms of the house. A man who stopped by the house while MDEA agents were there told investigators that he had been buying marijuana from Randy Hayes weekly for the past two years, according to the investigative report.

Under the rules of the medical marijuana program, patients and caregivers who are not related must grow their plants in separate enclosures. Each patient is allowed to possess up to 2½ ounces of prepared marijuana, six mature plants, 12 female nonflowering plants and up to 8 pounds of unprepared marijuana in varying stages of processing. Only licensed caregivers and dispensaries are allowed to sell marijuana to patients.

The investigative report does not indicate whether the plants were mature or nonflowering, but did describe them as healthy and abundant.

SEEKING CLARITY

Logan Perkins, a Bangor attorney who represents Randy Hayes, believes the MDEA charged the Hayeses with criminal violations for what should have been an administrative issue with the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the medical marijuana program.

“Those are administrative rules about how you have to conduct yourself to be on the right side of the medial marijuana program,” she said. “Those are not criminal laws. If you’re in violation of a rule, that does not mean you’re in violation of a criminal law.”

The Hayeses did not realize each patient’s plants had to be secured in separate enclosures, according to their attorneys. Each plant was documented so they knew who it belonged to, but their defense attorneys declined to describe the arrangement in more detail. State law prohibits the creation of collectives where caregivers grow marijuana together.

“They were under the impression that putting one fence around the entire thing was the proper way to do it,” said Chris McCabe, a Portland attorney who represents Margot Hayes.

Supporters of the Hayeses hosted a potluck meal and concert Saturday to raise money for their legal defense. G.W. Martin, a former caregiver from Montville who has known the couple for years, hosted the party at his farm. He said many people in the area know the Hayeses, whom he describes as active and charitable members of the community.

“Everybody hopes the best for them,” he said. “We’re all trying to do our best to follow the rules and we’re all behind Randy and Margot. These unclear rules affect everyone statewide.”

Under the medical marijuana program, patients and caregivers do not undergo regular inspections to make sure they are complying with the regulations. Because of that, it can be tricky for patients and caregivers to comply with every aspect of the law, advocates say.

Caregivers in states with medical marijuana programs often operate with very little oversight. Most states do not regularly inspect caregivers to ensure they are growing the proper number of plants and are following the rules, according to a 2015 investigation by the Carnegie-Knight News21 program, a national multimedia investigative reporting project.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the medical marijuana program, declined to comment for this story.

King Bishop, a longtime patient and advocate from nearby Morrill, said there are many patients and caregivers across the state who are frustrated with “gray areas” of the law and want to see more clarity in the rules. Much of that frustration centers on what actually qualifies as a collective and how to define the various stages of marijuana so patients and caregivers know how to properly store it without violating the rules. Violations of those rules should be handled by DHHS, not law enforcement, he said.

“We’re seeing rule violations turn into felonies in the state,” Bishop said. “That’s dangerous. How can a patient who has a legal right to grow be charged with illegal cultivation?”

Randy Hayes said the situation has been stressful for his family, both because of the criminal charges and because they cannot afford to buy medical marijuana from dispensaries. He said they hope to grow their own plants next season and will continue to push to clarify the medical marijuana regulations, regardless of the outcome of their cases.

“Out of all this madness, I want to see clarity for the patients and caregivers in the state of Maine,” he said. “There’s a rulebook that everybody goes by, but the gray areas are not a good thing.”

The Truth Summit on Medical Marijuana in Maine

IMG 6649 XLThe Truth Summit on Medical Marijuana in Maine was held on 2/06/16 at the Hutchinson Center in Belfast. Speakers discussed the current status of Maine medical marijuana laws; current uses of medical marijuana, such as cancer treatment and drug/opiate dependency; continuing bureaucratic problems for veterans and their use of medical marijuana and a historical review of drug/opiate addiction in Maine since the 1800s.
Sponsored by Maine medical marijuana patients and caregivers in Knox and Waldo Counties for public education.

Maine medical marijuana bill allows for lab testing and hospital access

 "To clarify a couple of miss statements in the article... Caregivers are only allowed 5 patients with six flowering plants each. And the quote from Catherine Lewis was only asking for cap removal on patient count not plant count."

STApotmedsP021116by SCOTT THISTLE, State Politics Editor, Sun Journal

Read the article here: http://www.sunjournal.com/news/maine/0001/11/30/maine-medical-marijuana-bill-allows-lab-testing-and-hospital-access/1869741

AUGUSTA — A legislative committee unanimously approved a bill Wednesday that would give immunity from state law to hospitals that allow nonsmoking marijuana for patients who need it.

The bill, LD 726, also defines in law what incidental marijuana is, including nonflowering plants or plant byproducts that have not yet been processed into medicinal products.

Currently, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services has rules defining incidental marijuana, but those rules are not in the statute. Under the current rules, a medical marijuana caregiver is allowed to have up to 8 pounds of incidental marijuana.

The legislation, approved by the Health and Human Services Committee, also sets up a lab-testing regime to certify the quality of medicinal marijuana products to ensure proper dosages and potency levels for patients, especially children who have epileptic seizures. That change would also allow for labeling of medical marijuana products to certify their quality and content.

That change would set the same quality standards for medical marijuana caregivers, who can grow up to five plants per patient with a maximum of six patients, and the eight medicinal marijuana dispensaries scattered across Maine.

But due to concern over possible opposition from Republican Gov. Paul LePage and others in the Legislature, the lawmakers on the committee put the brakes on a pair of other provisions they were contemplating, including one that would increase the amount of excess marijuana a caregiver could sell to another caregiver or dispensary, or a dispensary could sell to another dispensary. That change would have upped the limit from 2 pounds to 5 pounds.

The committee also backed away from a provision that would have allowed dispensaries in Maine to transition into for-profit companies. Current state law requires them to be nonprofit entities. But because marijuana remains illegal under federal law, they cannot obtain any official nonprofit status or benefit.

That didn't stop a number of lawmakers Wednesday from expressing their support for those provisions.

"I don't see the harm in moving forward with a business model here," said Sen. Anne Haskell, D-Portland. "I also have been supportive of caregivers and the expansion of caregivers. I think it's right; I think it should go forward. I've been a supporter of the industry and I will not turn my back on it."

But looming in the background on all of the discussion is the possibility that Maine voters in November will have an opportunity to make recreational marijuana legal under state law, a move that would likely have a reverberating effect on the state's medical marijuana industry.

The change to a for-profit model would more readily allow the state's largest medical marijuana growers and dispensaries to establish themselves in a fledgling recreational marijuana industry if approved by voters in November.

"Being a big proponent of the free market, I kind of tend to support any chance we can to expand free-market principles in the industry," said Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn. He said he supports allowing dispensaries to become for-profit businesses, but he also supports the idea that caregivers should be allowed to convert to dispensaries as they grow and that patient caps for caregivers should be eliminated.

"Whatever path we can take to allow the free market to operate more in this industry, I support," said Brakey, the Senate chairman of the committee.

But both of those ideas and others that could be viewed as expanding access to marijuana are unlikely to gain the support of anti-drug conservatives in the Legislature and could face opposition from LePage in the form of a veto.

But representatives from both the caregivers and the dispensaries offered testimony in support of the new regulations for lab-testing quality control and setting in law definitions for incidental marijuana that has not yet been processed into medical products.

"Believe it or not, the dispensaries and caregivers have really been reaching out to each other in trying to work together, in trying to move the program forward without so much negativity, which is very nice," said Catherine Lewis, the director of education for the Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine, a trade group.

Lewis said her group did have concerns about allowing dispensaries to move to a for-profit model without also allowing caregivers to expand their businesses by removing patient and plant limits currently on the books.

It's an issue that hasn't been lost on lawmakers, including Rep. Deborah Sanderson, R-Chelsea, one of the ranking Republicans on the committee.

"I would like to see the entire industry be able to flourish and let the market decide the winners and the losers, not the regulatory pieces that we sit in here and make the decisions on," Sanderson said. "I am very uncomfortable in allowing — in the most simplistic terms here — something that allows for the growth of Wal-Marts and puts limitations on the mom and pops."

Sanderson said caregivers in Maine had created thousands of jobs geographically dispersed around the state, including in some of Maine's most economically depressed areas. Sanderson said she would fight for parity for the little guy but ultimately, she wanted to advance legislation that had support.

"We need to decide as a committee today, where do we want to push the boundaries and get as many more yards down the field as we can get to move this program forward," Sanderson said.

Other lawmakers on the committee agreed they should try to move forward with legislation that appeared to be politically possible and then develop new bills for changes that are likely to be more controversial or could change, depending on what voters decide in November.

Also likely to derail any state legislation could be changes at the federal level, including a rumored pending executive order from President Barack Obama that would remove medical marijuana from the federal government's list of prohibited scheduled drugs, said Rep. Richard Malaby, R-Hancock.

Malaby said that while he could support the other provisions, he believed it would be in the best interest of the committee to take incremental steps.

Others, including Rep. Patricia Hymanson, D-York, said they supported the need to improve quality controls to ensure dosage safety and effectiveness for patients, and they didn't want to sacrifice achieving that in law for the sake of the other provisions.

"I think the labs are extraordinarily important for patient safety, and I wouldn't want to see that compromised in any way by putting it together with other things that could make that fall apart," Hymanson said.

Brakey said regardless of the outcome of a potential November ballot question on recreational marijuana, Maine was going to continue to have a thriving medical marijuana industry, and he intended to advance legislation in the future to support it.

"I think the medical marijuana program is here to stay," Brakey said. "It's very important for patients who are struggling with these sicknesses and diseases, and it's been very helpful for them. And this committee is going to continue working on the medical marijuana program, making it one of the strongest in the country and maintaining that, regardless of what happens with recreational marijuana."

The bill will return to the committee for a final language review before it is moved to the full Legislature for votes in the weeks ahead.

LD 1628 PUBLIC HEARING March 2nd, 2016

2:30 pm TODAY • March 2nd, 2016 in Room 436 at the State House
Don't let the legislature criminalize Medical Marijuana Patients!

The bill does the following:

1. It establishes a permissible inference of operating under the influence of intoxicants when a person operates a motor vehicle and has a level of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, of 5 nanograms or more per milliliter of blood
2. It establishes a permissible inference of operating under the influence of intoxicants when a person operates a motor vehicle and has a level of THC of 2 nanograms or more per milliliter of blood and an alcohol level of 0.05 grams or more of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or 210 liters of breath;

3. It establishes a 0.00 nanogram level for THC for a person under 21 years of age and provides an affirmative defense for marijuana use in compliance with the Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Act; and

4. It permits a qualified law enforcement officer, without making an arrest, to request that a person who the officer reasonably believes has been operating under the influence take a preliminary breath test for alcohol level and allows the results to be used to determine whether there is probable cause to believe the person was operating under the influence.

Having many patients and caregivers attend this Public Hearing is very important! Come stand up for your rights!

THC OUI Blood Testing

On Tuesday March 1st the House of Representatives approved (under the hammer, without debate or roll-call) a request by the Criminal Justice Committee to develop a bill to set a limit on how much THC in a person’s blood qualifies the driver as criminally operating under the influence.

A Public Hearing on LD 1628, “An Act To Strengthen the Laws on Operating a Motor Vehicle under the Influence of Intoxicants” is scheduled for Wednesday, March 2nd, starting at 2:30, immediately followed by a work session and committee vote.
The text of LD 1628 can be found at: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_127th/billtexts/SP066101.asp

The Federal Office of National Drug Control Policy is pressing any state that passes legislation to regulate marijuana like alcohol and allow retail sale to set a 5 nanogram THC blood level to prove OUI charges. THC OUI blood test laws have been enacted in the Colorado, Washington, Illinois, and Arizona.

Last spring, the former toxicologist for the State Crime Lab submitted a letter to the Criminal Justice Committee that there is no scientific evidence of a relationship between blood THC levels and impairment, and implementation would be costly and create more legal problems than it solves, while criminalizing law-abiding citizens.

The Secretary of State to organized a work-group this summer to recommend legislation in 2016 in order to deal with anticipated problems resulting from regulating marijuana like alcohol.
In the report back by the Secretary of State in January included recommendations that the committee develop a bill to set a 0 to 7 ng THC blood-based OUI standard as a precautionary action to prepare for anticipated problems resulting from recreational use and retail sale of marijuana.

When looking for effective ways to evaluate impairment in the workplace, a February 2016 Report on Substance Abuse, Marijuana, Medical Marijuana, and the Maine Employer Substance Abuse by the Maine Department of Labor found that:
“Impairment is not correlated with dosage or system levels of some substances of abuse, including marijuana. There is no “impairment level” for THC as there is for blood alcohol, and testing for levels of cannabinoids in one’s bloodstream or urine is not effective in determining how much the person is impaired. Impairment is also as likely to be caused by other substances and, at times, by the proper dosages of prescribed drugs.

Maine law already allows law enforcement to charge a person with operating under the influence of marijuana, with the determination of OUI based on a combination of factors, including a manual field sobriety test. There is no blood test used to determine whether a person is driving impaired under the influence of marijuana, just as there’s no blood test to determine whether a person is driving under the influence of prescription painkillers.

Last year the Maine legislature voted to reject a bill that would have required blood testing of any driver involved in a fatal accident to determine if drugs were present in the system causing impairment. That bill was voted down because of the high cost of testing and the fact that most blood-based drug tests need to be sent out of state. If blood-based drug tests are going to be implemented to determine impairment, all potentially impairing medications need to be considered.

The House and Senate are expected to vote on this bill Thursday, March 3rd, so it will be important for Representatives and Senators to hear from their constituents asking them respectfully to vote no on LD1628 and take the time needed to find less costly and more effective ways to stop impaired driving. Find your legislators’ contact information at: http://legislature.maine.gov/house/townlist.htm

Testimony for the Public Hearing this Wednesday, explaining how you or your family has benefited from medical use of cannabis and would be impacted by changes proposed in LD 1628, can be sent to the Criminal Justice Committee Clerk Suzanne Armstrong at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The best way to attack this is to write a testimony and send it to the committee clerk. Followed up by a call to your representative. If you can be at the hearing with written testimony (20 copies) it is scheduled for 2:30 and may have a late start.

Maine marijuana legalization bid fails to qualify for ballot

Maine marijuana legalization bid fails to qualify for ballot - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

The campaign did not obtain the 61,123 valid signatures required to make the ballot because of problems with the signatures of petition circulators and notaries.

By Steve Mistler Staff Writer - The Portland Press Herald

AUGUSTA — An effort to decriminalize marijuana in Maine did not qualify for the November ballot.

Secretary of State Matt Dunlap said in a statement that the proposal did not have enough valid signatures of Maine voters. The campaign needed 61,123 signatures. According to Dunlap’s office, the campaign only provided 51,543 valid signatures.

The campaign turned in 99,229 signatures on Feb. 1.

According to Maine election officials, over 31,000 signatures were deemed invalid because signatures on petitions swearing that the circulator witnessed signature collection did not match his or her signature on file. One circulator was listed as the public notary on 5,099 petitions containing 26,779 signatures.

Other irregularities included 13,525 signatures that were invalid because they did not belong to a registered voter in the municipality where they were submitted.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol backed the initiative, which would allow adults 21 and older to possess small amounts of marijuana for recreational use.

The push for legalization began with two competing measures, including one backed by a group called Legalize Maine. But the campaigns united behind one proposal in October, after advocates became concerned that having two similar proposals on the ballot would create confusion among voters and split the vote.

The campaign faced opposition from a group formed to prevent legalization, and from parts of the medical marijuana community in Maine. When campaign supporters delivered petitions to the Secretary of State’s Office in Augusta in February, they were met by protesters who said that local medical marijuana growers and patients could be hurt if the referendum passed.

If Maine were to legalize recreational marijuana, it would join a small number of Western states that allow adults to buy and possess the drug. Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C., have passed laws legalizing recreational marijuana despite a federal prohibition. Legalization referendums are expected to be considered this year in Nevada, California, Arizona, Michigan, Massachusetts and Vermont.

Maine has allowed medical marijuana since 1999 and the program has become increasingly popular in recent years. Last year, Mainers spent $23.6 million on medical marijuana from the state’s eight dispensaries, a 46 percent jump from the previous year. Those numbers don’t include sales to patients from the more than 2,200 caregivers licensed to grow and sell marijuana to patients.

The state cannot provide an exact number of patients because it does not keep a registry, but doctors have printed more than 35,000 certificates required under state regulations to certify patients. That number could include duplicates and replacement certificates and is likely higher than the actual number of patients, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the medical marijuana program.

The legalization bill would have allowed adults to possess up to 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana and to cultivate a limited number of plants. Retail stores and social clubs would be allowed with municipal approval. Adults would be prohibited from using marijuana in public, with violations punishable by a $100 fine. The bill also places a sales tax of 10 percent on retail marijuana and marijuana products.

Staff Writer Gillian Graham contributed to this report.

Young fighter for sick children’s access to medical marijuana dies

Cyndimae Meehan, who had a rare form of epilepsy, and her mother were the faces of efforts in Connecticut and Maine to change the laws on pediatric cannabis therapy.

By Gillian Graham - Staff Writer - Portland Press Herald

Read the article here: http://www.pressherald.com/2016/03/14/girl-who-inspired-medical-marijuana-law-dies-at-13-in-maine/

818419 96573 20160314 Cyndimae 004On her last day, Cyndimae Meehan did the things she loved.

She colored. She played. She took a nap in her father’s arms.

Cyndimae, whose fight for access to medical cannabis to treat a rare form of epilepsy brought her and her mother before lawmakers in Maine and Connecticut, died Sunday while sleeping on her father’s chest on the couch in their Augusta home. She was 13.

“She really spread love and joy and an unbelievable smile everywhere she went, whether it was the State House or a restaurant or riding roller coasters in Florida,” said her mother, Susan Meehan. “She was a unifying force wherever she went.”

Cyndimae had Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy that begins in infancy. Her parents turned to medical marijuana after many years of trying without success to control Cyndimae’s frequent seizures – sometimes many within an hour – using FDA-approved drugs. Soon after starting the cannabis therapy, they decided it was the best course for their daughter even though their home state of Connecticut doesn’t allow pediatric medical marijuana use.

So Cyndimae became a medical marijuana refugee.

Cyndimae and Susan Meehan moved to Maine 2½ years ago to give Cyndimae consistent and legal access to medical cannabis. During their time in Maine, they became well-known advocates, frequently testifying at the State House on bills that affect the state’s longstanding medical marijuana program. Meehan often testified in both Augusta and Connecticut with Cyndimae by her side.

Last year, Meehan testified in favor of a bill – since passed into law – that allows Maine schools to provide accommodations for children who use medical marijuana. The driving force behind the bill was Cyndimae’s desire to go to school, something her illness had made impossible without access to medical marijuana.

“Cyndimae is probably the biggest advocate we ever brought to Augusta,” Brian Breton, a Meehan family friend and the lead advocate for Maine Children for Cannabis Therapy, said Monday. “She really opened eyes in Augusta.”

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILED, MARIJUANA

818419 824271 cyndimae 1Cyndimae began having seizures at 10 months old. For years, her family tried FDA-approved pharmaceuticals to control her seizures, but they often left her in a wheelchair, unable to move on her own and largely unresponsive.

After Cyndimae had tried 23 different anti-epileptic drugs, her neurologist told her parents they were out of options and should try to get her to a state where they could legally try marijuana.

While still living in Connecticut, Susan Meehan found a medical cannabis oil that stopped her daughter’s seizures. She managed to get a 90-day supply, but on the 45th day the grower was arrested and his plants were destroyed by police. Two days after the oil ran out, Cyndimae was back in the hospital.

“Before we made the decision to move, we were losing her. She was always in a wheelchair and she couldn’t eat,” Meehan said.

Meehan moved Cyndimae to the Augusta area, leaving her husband, Robert, and four other daughters behind in Connecticut until last year, when the rest of the family moved to Maine.

While she was taking her cannabis oil, Cyndimae was able to regain her strength and stop using her wheelchair. The difference was remarkable, Breton said. “When I met Cyndimae three years ago, she was in a wheelchair, was unresponsive and had a blank stare on her face. She was a shell of a child,” he said. “Now she runs and laughs and colors and goes swimming. She’s an inspiration to all of us.”

Breton is leading a campaign to raise money for the Meehan family to bring Cyndimae home to Connecticut for her funeral. The youcaring.com Web page he launched Sunday evening generated more than $4,000 in donations in less than a day. Cyndimae’s supporters will celebrate her life in April during a fundraising event for Maine Children for Cannabis Therapy.

Samantha Brown of South Berwick, whose daughter also has Dravet syndrome, first met the Meehans three years ago as each family was embarking on what she calls their “cannabis journey.” She said Cyndimae was a fighter with a smile that captivated everyone around her.

818419 Cyndimae Meehan“When I think of Cyndimae, I think of a warrior. She always had a smile on her face,” Brown said. “She’s taught so many people around the world about what she’s gone through and what she does for treatment. She was such a vocal part in this movement in Connecticut and in Maine.”

Cyndimae’s story was well-known in the halls of the State House, said Rep. Deborah Sanderson, R-Chelsea, who sponsored the bill to allow patients to take medical marijuana at school. She said Cyndimae’s story helped lawmakers understand the importance of the medical marijuana program for patients.

“Her story is incredibly compelling,” Sanderson said. “It’s not until you actually see the faces of the people who benefit from this, especially the children who have been on a roller coaster of pharmaceuticals, that you really feel the impact.”

SCHOOL DAYS AFTER LAW CHANGES

After the bill to allow medical marijuana in schools became law last year, Augusta immediately put in place rules that allowed Cyndimae to start attending middle school at Cony High School. Meehan said her daughter was so proud to attend school in Augusta starting last September.

“Being with her peers and being able to sit at a table with other kids to eat lunch meant everything to her,” Meehan said. “She loved to be with people.”

Meehan knows her daughter had a big impact in Augusta and beyond, and she plans to continue that fight. But for now, she’s focused on mourning the smiling girl who was treasured by her parents and siblings.

On Monday, Meehan talked about her daughter’s love of roller coasters – the faster the better – and the shock of losing her to Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy. Thirteen years ago, the Meehans were told Cyndimae probably wouldn’t live past 2.

“She was a gift every day we had her,” she said.

Let doctors treat addiction with medical marijuana

By Patricia Callahan
Read the article here: http://callahan.bangordailynews.com/2016/04/22/home/let-doctors-treat-addiction-with-medical-marijuana/#.VxtslJ-sTLs.facebook

I attended a hearing at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday and wanted to share some brief thoughts. I’ve been following the movement to allow prescribers to treat addiction to opiates and other drugs with medical marijuana. This hearing was in response to a petition put forth by Dawson Julia of Unity requesting that the department do so.

Because the hearing room was too small to allow all the attendees in at once, people had to come and go throughout the five hours allotted, and it was hard to gauge exactly how many people were there. I would say more than 50 but less than 100. DHHS staff did a great job escorting folks in and out of the room and allowed each speaker five minutes. The staff person coordinating the flow of attendees told me she had never had so many people come to a petition hearing in her experience.

At first, I spent some time outside talking among the dozens waiting to be let into the room, and I should have taken pics, but it was drizzly and cold, and my old lady fingers can’t work the little buttons on my mom’s little camera once they catch a chill so, sorry — no pics. One of the young men I met, though, appeared on Channel 8 News — click here to see him on video — named Matt Low. Low told me he’s been through a series of attempting to quit opiates, relapsing each time.

Like so many others who testified at the hearing, Low started with prescription medications. By the time he stopped using again a few months ago, he was using four grams of heroin/fentanyl a day. Low said he started his recovery cold turkey this time. After a few days of utter mental and physical desperation, he reached out to someone in the medical marijuana community who specialized in concentrated cannabis products.

In my interviews and in the testimony, people in recovery with cannabis have said concentrates — medical marijuana products with higher levels of the THC and/or CBD components of the plant — have been critical during the immediate withdrawal phase. These people have been able to access marijuana legally for conditions other than addiction and say it helped them come off opiates and other addictive medications.

Low said the caregiver with whom he works (and someone I’ve met writing this series) is providing more than just marijuana products. Low says Dennis Hammoc of Milo instills other recovery tenets in their time together, like purpose. Low says he feels purposeful for the first time in years, and, “For the first time, I feel hope. The other times I tried to quit I didn’t.”

I had too many great conversations to include here, but I did want to highlight a conversation I had with a home health-care professional who works with geriatric clients. Stacy Briggs, a former Coast Guard helicopter mechanic who became a CNA, is continuing her education/certification because she loves working with seniors. Briggs is concerned that seniors are being overlooked in the talk of addiction and other negative side effects from long-term opiate use, and spoke articulately about a couple cases where she thought the over-prescribing of opiates and sleep aids contributed to the deterioration of her clients’ health, behavior and basic safety.

One of those seniors, she said, decided to get certified to use medical marijuana products and was able to cut her use of pain medications by half within a few weeks and is continuing to decrease the amount of pain medications she is taking. Briggs said the client’s cognition and behavior improved almost immediately.

Once in the room, I was able to listen to about three hours of testimony. Some of the folks I’ve been interviewing attended the entire meeting and said only three people had testified against the petition prior to me getting there. I heard another three, including Scott Gagnon who rights the blog Smart Approaches to Public Health, and lawyer Gordon Smith, representing the Maine Medical Association.

As for those testifying against, I have two observations. First, they were all professionals. To the best of my knowledge, not one person in recovery from a substance use disorder testified against the petition.

I didn’t hear anyone stand up and say, “My name is so and so. I am in recovery from such and such, and I think this proposal is dangerous because...”

All the people I heard testifying in favor of the petition were actually in recovery from something or speaking on behalf of someone in recovery. Father after father testified about getting their children back or being better. Parents publicly acknowledging their failures when on opiates and other drugs.

There were also professionals working with people in recovery testifying in favor of the petition, including at least two Maine Medical Association physicians, as Smith observed when he testified in opposition, which brings me to my other observation. The three people I heard testifying against the petition kept bringing up the lack of science behind the proposal, implying it could be dangerous to rely on anecdotal evidence, rather than science.

This argument is problematic because there is some science, and there would be more science were it not for government restrictions. Further, where were all the calls for sound science when it came to the push to use opiates to treat chronic pain longterm — a big part of how we got into this addiction epidemic?

I heard person after person testify about starting their addictions with prescription pain medications.

If there was science behind that push, then that science made people sick. The makers of Oxycontin are paying the state of Kentucky $24 million for the fallout from its marketing practices, presumably based on science. It’s not hard to understand why some of the attendees weren’t feeling the love for the call for science — it did ring a little hollow.

As Smith dismissed their experiences as anecdotal and lacking in significance enough to warrant supporting the petition, he did at least acknowledge that the folks testifying were “sincere.” That he used that word bothered me.

The folks who testified that they had began their addictions following medication regimens prescribed by medical professionals were sincere in their testimony. They were also sincere when they first went to medical professionals to have their conditions treated and were sincere in doing what their doctors told them to do.

Unfortunately, their sincerity and their trust in the medical community led to substance use disorders. I wish Smith had talked about his association’s role in betraying that sincerity. Then I wish he had spoken to his association’s sincerity in trying to control how people clean up the mess members of his association had a hand in making. Without those two qualifying statements, what Smith did say just didn’t sound that sincere to me.

Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry

October 24, 2019
Hello, thank you for receiving and sharing this update with your industry peers.


Below is a brief summary of updated hemp and CBD guidelines, followed by full text of the Guidelines for Enforcement.
Background
The July 2019 Maine Agency Guidelines focused on hemp regulation pursuant LD 630 (PL 2019 c.12). This law made it legal in Maine for food, food additives, and food products to contain cannabidiol (CBD). These products will not be considered “adulterated” under Maine law based solely on containing CBD. The state interpreted LD 630 as requiring CBD used in products created in Maine must be derived from hemp grown solely in Maine. This was reflected in the July guidance, which made clear that out-of-state CBD was not allowed to be purchased across state lines and utilized in products manufactured in Maine. The guidance also stated that state inspectors could review documents to verify whether products were derived from Maine-grown hemp. Later in the session, the Maine Legislature passed LD 1749 (PL 2019 c.528). Because LD 1749 had the effect of eliminating LD 630’s prohibition of out-of-state CBD, new guidance was needed.
Updated Guidelines
• LD 1749 allows CBD to be brought into Maine from another state which has a licensed hemp program.
• Several factors remained consistent between the July and October Guidelines:
o The prohibition on the importation of food products containing CBD from another state into Maine remains.
o Ingestible products sold at retail in Maine must be produced in Maine.
o Product labeling requirements remain unchanged, as does the prohibition on making any health claims relating to CBD absent approval pursuant to federal law.

MAINE AGENCY GUIDELINES for ENFORCEMENT of PL 2019 c. 528[LD 1749]
Maine law, like the US Farm Bill of 2018, has expanded the definition of hemp to include cannabis plants and extracts of such plants (including cannabidiol or CBD) which have less than 0.3% delta-9-THC by dry weight. The US FDA retains the authority to regulate food, drug, and cosmetic products, including those containing hemp or cannabidiol/CBD. US FDA has issued statements prohibiting food, unapproved drugs, dietary supplements, pet food, and unapproved animal drugs that contain CBD from interstate commerce. In Maine, the Food Code had similar restrictions about CBD in food. Maine lawmakers responded with emergency enactment of PL 2019, c. 12 [LD 630], effective March 2019, and PL 2019, c. 528, effective September 19, 2019. These laws made changes to Maine’s pure foods and drugs statutes and laws regarding hemp.
This guidance covers inspectors who enforce the Maine Food Code. This includes inspectors from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, which regulates retail food establishments, and the DHHS Health Inspection Program/designated municipalities, which regulate eating establishments. It is legal, per the Maine Food Code, for licensees to sell edible products containing CBD subject to the conditions outlined below:
• Per 22 MRS §2157(15) packaged food, food additives, or food products must be clearly labeled by including:
o the ingredient it contains (hemp or CBD) and amount by weight or volume;
o name and address of the source of the hemp from which the cannabidiol was derived;
o in the case of extracts (such as CBD oil) or tinctures, indicates the batch number; and
o a disclosure statement that the food, food, additive or food product has not been tested or evaluated for safety; or
• Per 22 MRS §2157(15) unpackaged food, food additives or food products must:
o clearly note the inclusion of CBD on a notice next to the food, food additive or product; next to the pertinent listing on a menu; or in an open manner where the food product is served, and
o have a conspicuously displayed directory for use by customers with information on the contents of all unpackaged food products sold/served that contain CBD from hemp.
• The food product label, menu, advertising, and any other related information must not include health claims that items with hemp or CBD can diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, condition or injury without approval pursuant to federal law.
• Source CBD may be from Maine or brought into Maine from another state that has a Farm Bill 2014 hemp program. The licensee must have the state hemp program number for the source CBD provider.
• The delta-9-THC content of any hemp, CBD extract, or product must be less than 0.3%.
• Ingestible products (food) may not be imported from out of state if they already contain CBD, since that is still a violation of federal law and the Maine Food Code. Ingestible products sold at retail in Maine must be produced in Maine.
These guidelines are for use by DHHS and DACF retail inspection staff. They will be enforced beginning December 1, 2019. These guidelines may be shared with the understanding that state and federal statutory changes and rulemaking are ongoing and may alter any of the above conditions and/or add new conditions.
For all hemp program information visit https://www.maine.gov/dacf/php/hemp/.

Seniors Make Up The Fastest-Growing Demographic of Marijuana Users

Between 2013-2014, people 55 years old and older had the largest increase in marijuana use, according to CBS This Morning. This demographic went from 2,812,000 to 4,309,000 marijuana users in that time frame, according to the segment. This shows that seniors are embracing marijuana at a rapid pace.

The Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Program has a new address

The Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Program is now located at Maine CDC in the Key Bank Plaza, 286 Water Street. The phone numbers of program staff and the current mailing address remain unchanged.

Staff are available to those who wish to visit the office to ask questions or drop off information from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday,  Wednesdays and Thursday. Visitors must check in at the reception area.

For general program information, please call 287-3282 or 287-9330.

PESTICIDES CORE MANUAL AND EXAM

MMCM is trying to put together a schedule of classes and exam for caregivers to obtain their pesticide license... until then, please find below the information to be able to access and or download the Core Manual from the University.

Pesticide Education (core) Manual is available from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension at http://umaine.edu/ipm/pesticide-safety/certification-manual-prices/  or call 207-581-3880.

The exam can be taken at the BPC office in Augusta (207-287-2731)

If you already have your license...and are interested in obtaining any credit workshops...checkout a list of dates and times

pesticideclasses

Medical marijuana caregivers face restrictions in Saco, Maine

By Gillian Graham Staff Writer / Portland Press Herald
Read the article here: http://www.pressherald.com/2016/08/01/medical-marijuana-caregivers-face-restrictions-in-saco/

Councilors are considering the state's first ban on in-home growing of pot by caregivers, but it may violate state law and would be hard to enforce.

Saco could become the first community in Maine to ban small in-home medical marijuana growers.

City officials are considering zoning ordinance amendments that would prohibit medical marijuana caregivers from cultivating marijuana in their homes and limit them to the city’s industrial business district. But a medical marijuana caregivers trade group says the proposal is overly restrictive and may conflict with state law.
Both city officials and medical marijuana advocates believe Saco is the first community to consider prohibiting caregivers from growing medical marijuana in their homes, although a slew of towns – including neighboring Biddeford – have considered zoning restrictions as more caregivers cultivate in commercial spaces.

Saco City Administrator Kevin Sutherland said the City Council enacted a moratorium on medical marijuana facilities to allow officials time to determine where in the city such businesses should be allowed. As officials reviewed zoning, they recognized “it would be important to make this new use a prohibited use under home occupations” because of public safety concerns. He said concerns include the amount of electricity used for cultivation and the difficulty some medical marijuana businesses have accessing banking because marijuana is illegal under federal law.

“A lot of these caregivers may have a lot of money on hand. I’d rather it be in a locked facility than someone’s dresser drawer,” Sutherland said. “We don’t have enough police officers to patrol every house that might be participating in this.”

The Saco City Council will hold a workshop on the proposal Monday night, and the Planning Board will host a public hearing Tuesday night.

STATE HAS ABOUT 2,800 CAREGIVERS

Across the river in Biddeford, city officials also enacted a moratorium on medical marijuana caregivers in commercial spaces and are developing zoning regulations. The city’s Planning Board will hold a public hearing Wednesday on proposed amendments that would require a conditional use permit for commercial caregiver facilities and require a setback of 250 feet from schools, playgrounds and churches. City Manager Jim Bennett said the City Council has indicated it does not support regulating individual growers in their homes.

Sanford and Waterville are among the other communities that recently have adopted zoning amendments that require caregivers in commercial spaces to be located in certain parts of the city.

There are roughly 2,800 caregivers in Maine, with about 2,500 of those growing for patients other than a family member, according to Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine.

The state cannot provide an exact number of patients because it does not keep a registry, but doctors have printed more than 35,000 certificates required under state regulations to certify patients. That number could include duplicates and replacement certificates and is likely higher than the actual number of patients, according to DHHS.

The state requires caregivers to grow their plants in secure enclosures away from public view and prohibits them from allowing patients into their cultivation areas. The state also prohibits caregivers from forming collectives where they grow plants together.

Catherine Lewis, board president of Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine, said most caregivers are small “mom and pop” businesses that consist of a garden at home. Caregivers typically meet with patients at the patient’s home, she said.

Lewis said she understands why municipalities want to set up zoning for caregivers operating in commercial facilities, but questions whether Saco’s proposal goes too far.

“It seems like an overreaction or knee-jerk reaction to fear of the unknown,” Lewis said. “(Caregivers) have a garden within their home or outside. Basically, Saco is saying they can’t grow tomatoes in their backyard.”

A provision of the state medical marijuana law says municipalities are not prohibited from limiting the number and location of registered dispensaries, but that “a local government may not adopt an ordinance that is duplicative of or more restrictive than the provisions of this act.” That language was added to the law in 2011 to protect the privilege of caregivers and patients to cultivate at home, said Paul McCarrier, a longtime caregiver and medical marijuana industry consultant. He does not believe Saco’s prohibition on caregivers growing in their homes would stand up in court.

“Medical marijuana cultivation is complicated and I can understand the concerns of code enforcement. It’s natural that Saco would want to be out front and get citizen feedback,” McCarrier said. “This should not be used to shutter any current home-occupation caregivers who are helping sick patients, and I hope the city administration is sensitive to that.”

Lewis said representatives from the trade group likely will attend the Saco meetings and would like to work more closely with municipalities considering zoning changes.

She said she hopes municipalities will “not be so reactionary.”

UNABLE TO ‘ZONE OUT’ CAREGIVERS

Sutherland, the Saco city administrator, said city officials decided to pursue the moratorium and zoning amendments after the code enforcement officer was “inundated” with requests from caregivers who want to open growing facilities. The code enforcement officer needed guidance on where they could locate within the city, he said.

The city had not previously addressed the issue because of a 2012 legal opinion “that said we couldn’t do anything about it,” Sutherland said. But a more recent legal opinion says the city cannot zone caregivers out, but can regulate where they go and develop standards for the buildings in which they are housed.

Eric Conrad, spokesman for the Maine Municipal Association, said the organization hears “quite a bit” about the zoning issue from communities across the state.

“It is a common question that our member towns and cities face these days as society grapples with legalization of medical marijuana for medical purposes, and yet it is still illegal for many non-medical uses,” he said. The association makes sure that municipal officials understand the state’s laws, particularly regarding confidentiality provisions for caregivers and patients.

Enforcement of a ban on home-based growers would be difficult to enforce.

The DHHS keeps the names of caregivers private except in certain law enforcement-related situations, and there is no public listing of caregiver locations. City officials currently are aware of three caregivers in Saco – one each in a residential, business and industrial zone – but say there could be more.

DETAILS OF PROPOSED REGULATION

Sutherland said the city is aiming the ban at caregivers with multiple customers and is not trying to regulate patients who grow their own medical marijuana. “There’s no way we’d regulate that,” he said.

Caregivers already operating in Saco would be exempt from the new zoning requirements.

Under the proposal, medical marijuana caregiver facilities could not house more than three separate caregivers, must be located separately from the caregiver’s primary residence and must be locked and secured. Caregiver facilities would be located in the I-2 industrial business district, which also allows businesses such as hotels, banks, sports arenas and light industry. Sutherland said the I-2 zone was the best fit for caregivers because of the large amount of electricity used.

“What I struggle with is, while industrial (zoning) makes the most sense for the electrical capacity, they do take up space that could be used for businesses with more employees that don’t use as much electricity,” he said.

Saco’s proposal was developed with input from developers and caregivers, Sutherland said.

The City Council is expected to take an initial vote on the proposal Aug. 15, then hold a public hearing before a final vote in mid-September.

Saco considers medical marijuana rules

Free Disposal of Banned, Unusable Pesticides Available to Maine Residents

Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry sent this bulletin at 08/24/2016 10:05 AM EDT

WE NEED YOUR HELP, PLEASE PAY ATTENTION!!!!

Many towns are drafting zoning ordinances and moratoriums for medical marijuana businesses. It is crucial that we stay on top of what is happening in our towns. As we attend town meetings we have discovered there is a lot of mis information being shared. This is an opportunity for us to educate our communities. We encourage members to read local papers and to please contact MMCM immediately if a meeting to discuss zoning has been scheduled or added to the agenda. It is important for MMCM to attend as well as members of that community. Some towns are trying to prohibit where patients and caregivers can grow, process and consume cannabis. We are working hard to ensure the rules make sense and patients and caregivers rights are protected.

MEDICAL CANNABIS ADVOCATES

As a medical cannabis advocate, you should be aware that the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) budget has been helping defendants win in federal court. Beginning with the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana ruling last October, to dropping the case against Harborside this May, to the McIntosh victory in the 9th Circuit last month, the amendment has been protecting safe and legal access for patients. The amendment was passed in 2014 and 2015 thanks in part to the support and efforts of medical cannabis activists like you!

Earlier this year, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted overwhelming to include it in next DOJ budget. However, the amendment is set to expire at the end of September and the House has yet to vote on it. If the amendment expires, the federal prosecutions against those obeying their state medical cannabis laws could resume once again.

You can help by sending an email to your representative thanking them for voting yes last year or to encourage those who voted no to take another look at the issue.

Can a Maine medical marijuana patient or caregiver buy or own a gun?

Matt Dubois - Read the article here: http://www.duboislawmaine.com/single-post/2016/06/03/FAQ-Friday-Can-a-Maine-medical-marijuana-patient-or-caregiver-buy-or-own-a-gun

One of the questions I run into most frequently in my practice is, "Can a patient or caregiver legally buy or own a gun in Maine?" The short answer is 'no,' under federal law, and even under Maine law, being a patient or caregiver creates additional legal risk for gun owners. This post will address some of the laws affecting medical marijuana patients, caregivers, and gun owners at both the federal and state levels.

gunFederal Law

Q: Is a medical marijuana user permitted to buy a gun from a licensed dealer under federal law?

A: No. Under the federal Gun Control Act of 1968, it is illegal for any person to sell a firearm to a person who is "an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance." Because the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) treats anyone who uses marijuana as an "unlawful user" (since cannabis is a Schedule I drug under the CSA), it is federally prohibited to sell a firearm to anyone who uses cannabis.

A firearms dealer is required to ask each prospective buyer, on the background check form, if the buyer is a user of illegal drugs. Because a medical marijuana patient is considered an "illegal" drug user under the CSA, a patient who uses medical marijuana must answer "yes" to that question, or commit perjury. If a patient were to answer untruthfully and later faced federal charges, it could come to light that the patient bought the gun illegally and falsified the background check. This would likely carry additional fines and add to a potential prison sentence.

Q: Is a medical marijuana user permitted to possess a gun or ammo under federal law?

A: No. It is prohibited, under the federal Gun Control Act of 1968, for anyone who is "an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance" to even possess any "firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce." Since virtually all firearms and ammunition have been shipped or transported interstate (this includes the parts they're made from), it is prohibited under federal law for a cannabis user to even possess a gun or ammo.

It is true that virtually everything a medical marijuana patient or caregiver does with cannabis is prohibited at the federal level, and that it is currently a U.S. Department of Justice policy not to prosecute people who lawfully participate in state medical marijuana programs. However, this policy could potentially change at any time. Thus, any patient or caregiver who owns a firearm is at risk of federal prosecution.

Maine Law

Q: Are there any additional prohibitions under Maine law against a cannabis user buying a gun from a licensed dealer?

A: No, Maine law does not provide any additional prohibitions or penalties for firearm sales to cannabis users above and beyond those provided under federal law.

Q: Are there any additional prohibitions under Maine law against a medical marijuana user or caregiver possessing a gun or ammo?

A: No, however, that isn't the end of the story. While Maine law does not prohibit a person from possessing or owning a gun simply because that person uses medical marijuana, being a patient or caregiver does pose additional risks to Maine gun owners. In the event that a patient or caregiver were charged with a Maine drug offense, prosecutors could allege involvement of a gun in the offense to enhance the charges. For instance, if the state decided a firearm was sufficiently related to a caregiver's drug trafficking charge, the charge could be enhanced to "aggravated trafficking," with increased potential jail time and fines.

Conclusion

In short, for a law-abiding Maine medical marijuana patient or caregiver to own a firearm does expose him or her to increased risk of fines and incarceration at both the federal and state levels. Many understandably feel that the federal prohibition against medical marijuana users owning firearms is a violation of patients' Second Amendment rights. However, until the law changes, patients and caregivers should be aware of the serious legal risks posed by gun ownership.

For more information on the legal landscape of medical marijuana and gun ownership, contact Dubois Law.

Information Regarding Electrical Wiring of Medical Marijuana Facilities

Download the document from HERE

This document is in response to the many questions and concerns received by the State Electrical Inspectors concerning the wiring of medical marijuana facilities (grow facilities). This is not a “how to” document. This document is meant to inform the public, medical marijuana growers and licensees of the Electricians’ Examining Board (licensed electricians) about State laws and rules pertaining to grow facilities. These laws and rules apply to all business/commercial entities including grow facilities. There are no new laws or interpretations here.

Any person growing for him/herself may only wire a grow facility in that person’s own single family dwelling provided the person owns and occupies that single family dwelling and it is used solely as a single family dwelling. That person may or may not be required to obtain an electrical permit from a local municipality. Owners of grow facilities should check with the town or city to see whether an electrical permit is required. Please be responsible! There is a lot of electricity involved even in a small grow facility. The potential for fire and/or electrocution is definitely present if the wiring is not done correctly. If you have no wiring experience, please hire a licensed master or limited to house wiring electrician to wire a personal medical marijuana facility in your home.

Any marijuana caregiver grow facility, regardless of where it is located, requires an electrical permit for that electrical installation from a town, city or the state, whichever entity has jurisdiction. Even in a single family home or an accessory building associated with a single family home, a caregiver facility must be wired by a licensed master electrician and a permit must be obtained. Again, this is not a new requirement. A barbershop or beauty shop in a single family home has historically required a permit. In anticipation of questions on this point, the applicable laws are listed below.

· State law that requires all wiring be done by an electrician (32 M.R.S. § 1201).
· Single family dwelling may be wired by a homeowner under certain conditions (32 M.R.S. §
1105).
· Permits are required (32 M.R.S. § 1102-B) for electrical installations with certain exceptions (32
M.R.S. § 1102-B(5)). A medical marijuana grow facility is not a manufacturing facility.
· The National Electrical Code defines a one family dwelling as: “A building that consists solely
of one dwelling unit.” NFPA 70 Article 100.

Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Program - Sales Tax letter for Caregivers

Revised Statue Updates for Maine Medical use of Marijuana Act

MMCM Statement for questions asked... regarding which way to vote. Vote NO!

MMCM's primary mission is to maintain and improve access to safe medicinal cannabis for the patients of Maine and we have been unable to spend our limited resources on this debate over the re-regulation of cannabis "like alcohol". However, with the increased attention from both social and traditional media, our phones have been ringing off the hook with members and others seeking guidance and information . For this reason we feel it is necessary to clarify the issues as we see them should this initiative pass at this time.

Although there is language in the referendum specifically protecting Maine's Medical Marijuana Program, there are many other details of the referendum that threaten it. Additionally, in other states, after a vote to "legalize" marijuana, the legislative and rule making process that follows has negatively impacted those states' medical programs severely. We are now hearing positions and attitudes that reflect those threats in conversations with representatives and government officials, and as well in news reports from the media. For these reasons we feel this referendum has a serious potential to adversely affect patient support and access to good quality medicinal cannabis and the caregiver model in Maine's Medical Marijuana Program.

We encourage our members and others to read both Dr Sulak's and Canna Care Docs' recent posts that provide good, detailed, and balanced reviews of the issues. We've also included links to the referendumas well so you can see for yourself how these issues arise from the language.

MMCM will continue to focus our attention on protecting and improving patient and caregiver rights under Maine's Medical Marijuana Program, but felt that with so much happening it was important to provide some guidance to those who having been looking to us for it.

Attention to those with concerns about Question 1~

With the extremely close margin of under 3000 votes and votes still being counted, we want the public to understand adult use has not been signed in yet. We anticipate a call for a recount and then the governor must still sign it into law. It will take at least 9 months for the State to implement the program and create rules.

The medical program continues to care for the patients of Maine as usual. You must possess a valid medical cannabis recommendation to possess and use. Nothing has changed. Caregivers and dispensaries may only provide medical cannabis to card holding patients. Please be patient as the details are made known.

MMCM will be conducting business as usual. The office is moving to a new location this next week and will reopen December 1st. Cheryl is still available by phone at 207-596-3501 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thank you,
Catherine Lewis
Board President
Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine Trade Association
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Agricultural Trades Show - Pesticide Applicator Training Programs- Augusta Civic Center January 10-12, 2017

Download the brochure from HERE

Maine Board of Pesticides Control

Agricultural Trades Show- Pesticide Applicator Training Programs

Augusta Civic Center January 10-12, 2017

Pesticide Applicator Exam Training for Growers Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Maine Board of Pesticides Control

Fort Western Room (no credits) Pre-registration Is required*

BPC will present a three-hour training session to prepare growers for the P1ivate Pesticide Applicator Core exam. In the afternoon, Core and commodity exams will be administered only to those who attended the training.
Space is limited.*
10:15-1:15 Training
2:15-4:00 Exams

*Pre-registration required. Please go to www.thinkfirstspraylast.org  to reserve a seat

The Maine Board of Pesticides Control has a new information technology system. Licenses and notices are now being sent via email instead of through the postal service whenever possible, which means you will receive them much faster if we have your email. Please send your email address to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Coming soon!
A self-service website which will allow users to:
• Sign up for exams
• Submit applications for licensing
• Keep track of recertification credits
• Reprint licenses-free!
• Renew licenses
• Pay for exams and licenses

Industrial Hemp Now Accepting Applications to Grow Industrial Hemp in 2017

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is currently accepting applications to grow industrial hemp for the 2017 growing season. Applications can be obtained on the Industrial Hemp Website. Applications must be received by April 1.

Despite the recent referendum that legalized recreational marijuana, the licensing and THC testing requirements for growing industrial hemp remain unchanged.

Questions? Contact Gary Fish at 207-287-7545 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Explanation of Industrial Hemp Licensing Fees

Maine law requires that the Department cover the costs of operating the industrial hemp program by charging an application fee, license fee and a per acre fee. These fees are as follows:

$100 application fee – this fee must be submitted with the application.
$500 license fee – this fee is due after approval of the application and must be submitted with the signed licensing agreement.
$50/acre fee – this fee is due after approval of the application and must be submitted with the signed licensing agreement.

Fees collected will cover Departmental costs including, but not limited to:

 - Inspector travel costs including time to and from the growing area to take crop samples for THC content analysis;
 - Costs of transporting crop samples to a lab for THC content analysis;
 - Laboratory fees for testing crop samples;
 - Costs of equipment and supplies used in sampling;
 - Departmental time reviewing applications, preparing licensing agreements and issuing licenses;
 - Other administrative costs

Please note that the fees charged will only cover THC testing for one composite sample taken to represent the entire licensed crop. Licensees that wish to have individual growing areas or varieties tested separately will be responsible for paying any additional laboratory costs.

Guidance on Submitting Proof of a Certified Seed Source

Maine law requires that industrial hemp be planted using a certified seed source. The industrial hemp rule (Chapter 274) defines a certified seed source as one that is certified according to AOSCA (Association of Seed Certifying Agencies) or other approved standards and comes from plants that were tested during the active growing season and found to produce industrial hemp with 0.3% THC content or less. The Department understands the very limited availability of industrial hemp seed and the certified seed source requirements are difficult or nearly impossible to meet. While the Department is required to verify and collect documents which indicate the industrial hemp seed planted comes from a certified seed source, at least for 2017, we can be somewhat flexible on the form this certification may take. Acceptable forms of certification could include a letter, form or other written verification or combination of these documents that at a minimum includes:

Third party (someone other than the applicant and the grower of the seed) THC content lab test results for the industrial hemp. The third party should be identified on the testing results;
THC content test results must be for the variety or varieties included on the application and preferably for the specific lot of seed to be planted;
Results of THC content testing and the date tests were conducted;
The name of the seed supplier and origin of the seed.

As industrial hemp seed certified by AOSCA, or other official seed certification programs becomes more available, the Department will review and revise our policies and issue stricter guidelines for acceptable documentation of seed certification.

Read the full article from here

REMINDER… AS A (Cannabis) BUSINESS OWNER…END OF YEAR…SALES TAX!

This is intended as advice to assist folks in complying with their obligations under Maine Tax Law.
Medical Marijuana dispensaries and Primary Caregivers registered with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services are retailers...and are required to register as retailers with MRS and remitting Maine Sales Tax.

For more information GO TO link... http://www.maine.gov/revenue/salesuse/Bull602016_08_01.pdf

Or Contact Judy A. Methot
Deputy Director, Sales, Fuel and Special Tax Division
Maine Revenue Services - http://maine.gov/revenue
207.699.6473 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Interesting Reads in Arizona....COURT RULES MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS CANNOT BE CHARGED WITH DUI

Read the full article HERE

In 2017, cannabis is now more legal and accessible than ever. And its growing use is presenting new problems for law enforcement. Chief among those issues is how to handle folks who chief and drive. This issue is this: there is no reliable way to test how cannabis use influences driving. And in fact, several studies show that marijuana use does not impact driving ability very much. In light of this, an Arizona court ruled last week that legal medical cannabis patients can fight their DUI charges.

arizonas medical cannabis

Following Arizona’s Court of Appeals ruling, the burden of proof for charging cannabis users with a DUI is now on the police, not patients. Medical marijuana patients charged with a DUI can fight it in court. Importantly, this means that it’s now up to the arresting officer to prove that the THC impaired the driver.

And police are going to have a hard time doing so, because of two factors. Firstly, how impaired a driver is, has little to do with the amount of THC in their bloodstream. And secondly, people respond to THC very differently. So there’s no concrete basis for setting a legal limit on THC, unlike alcohol. What gets one person too high to drive might not affect another person very much.

arizonas medical cannabis2

Even the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration admits that it’s impossible to tell intoxication based on THC levels. Their website states that it is “difficult to establish a relationship” between THC in the blood and impairment.

It also says that it is “inadvisable” and “impossible” to predict any specific impacts based on THC concentration. Put simply, just because you have cannabis in your system doesn’t mean your driving will suck.

Taking all of this evidence into account, Arizona‘s medical cannabis patients are now legally entitled to fight the DUI charges. According to the court opinion from Judge Diane M. Johnsen, Arizona law doesn’t set a legal level for THC intoxication.

And the mere presence of THC in a driver’s system doesn’t make them intoxicated by default. Therefore, the court concluded, it is fair to hear challenges from medical cannabis patients who believe police unfairly gave them a DUI.

So how does someone challenge a DUI under the new ruling? All they have to do is present evidence that they were not impaired while driving. The accused individual can do this by cross-examining the arresting officer. Drivers accused of DUIs for cannabis use can also hear testimony from forensic experts provided by the state.

All of this dates back to a 2013 arrest of Nadir Ishak. Ishak is a medical cannabis patient who was charged with a DUI after police pulled him over and noticed his bloodshot and glassy eyes. A judge later convicted Ishak for driving with marijuana in his system.

However, during his day in court, Ishak was prevented from presenting evidence that he was a registered, legal medical marijuana patient. Ishak’s case has since been thrown out. Thanks to the new ruling, other patients charged with DUI will be able to fight the charges against them.

***LD 88, HP 66, 128th Legislature Public Hearing is being heard Today!!!!

Legislative updates Click Here

An Act To Delay the Implementation of Certain Portions of the Marijuana Legalization Act

This is your chance to give testimony...if you cannot make it today, please do a written testimony and Email to your Representative, send to : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
*Please stress the importance of preserving the Medical Program during implementation of Adult Use

Legislative Update January 18, 2017

The work of the 128th session of the Maine Legislature has begun. There may be as many as 70 marijuana bills working their way through the system but this number is not unusually large. There were 83 bills sponsored in the 127th Legislative Session.
The titles of the sponsored bills for this session have been released but not the content. These titles provide clues and topics include: Edibles, OUI, Testing, Repeal, Regulate.
Leading the others on information release and scheduling are two sponsored bills.

LD 88, HP 66,128th Legislature An Act To Delay the Implementation of Certain Portions of the Marijuana Legalization Act

HP 96,128th Legislature Joint Order, Establishing the Joint Select Committee on Marijuana Legalization Implementation

The Maine Legislature provides a bill tracking & text search tool for all proposed legislation. Choose session 128th and type “marijuana” in the text search. The full content, sponsors and status information can be viewed http://legislature.maine.gov/bills/default_ps.asp?snum=128&PID=0

MMCM has submitted a comprehensive bill to expand the medical marijuana program and to regulate that expansion. An Act to Amend Maine’s Medical Marijuana Law. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Deb Sanderson and Senator Eric Brakey. The bill is at the Revisor’s Office awaiting production into final form. The Revisor's Office is the Legislature's central production office where all legislative instruments, including bills and amendments, are initially filed and then produced in final form for introduction. The final form of the bill will be available when it has completed the Revisor’s process.

Maine Legislature Media Streaming - Listen LIVE or Archive

Canna Care Docs offering new Services/New Prices

17.01.20 MMCM Annual Meeting at Senator Inn in Augusta

amm2017

The annual meeting of the Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine was held at the Senator Inn in Augusta on January 20, 2017.
Katie Digget sang and played before Chair Catherine Lewis and Treasurer Darrell Gudroe gave their reports to start the meeting.
Legislative Committee Chair Maureen McKerns spoke about the past year's legislative session and the goals for the upcoming session.
Chris VanDyke of C-Port Credit Union talked about C-Port's role in offering accounts to growers and caregivers.
Representative Deb Sanderson and Senator Eric Brakey encouraged patients and caregivers to get involved in the legislature.
Dr. Dustin Sulak of Integr8 presented an excellent talk on medical cannabis dosing levels.
Maine medical marijuana patients, Rick (father) and Austin (son), spoke about their brain injuries and the power of medical cannabis.
Bridget Kirouac, a Maine medical marijuana patient living in Florida, spoke about her arrest for growing in Florida and how Dr. Dustin Sulak testified at her trial and won her an acquittal.
Dan Thayer, President and co-founder of Thayer Corporation and LifeSpring, spoke about the future challenges facing growers and caregivers in regard to building and zoning ordinances.
Canna Cares Doc CEO Kevin Kafka ended the evening with a review of the national status of medical marijuana.
For information about the Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine, go to mmcm-online.org

Another Reason to write to your Representatives...

Increased banking regulations and risks... cause additional financial costs to Cannabis related Businesses...

February 17, 2017

Dear Business: Account holder,
Thank you for your membership at cPort. We value your business, and we want to inform you of an upcoming change to your cannabis-related business account.

As you are aware, as long as cannabis remains illegal under federal law, each cannabis-related business account at cPort represents heightened compliance risks, entailing specific account opening procedures, enhanced monitoring, and filings compared to our standard business accounts.

As the number of our cannabis-related business accounts has grown so, too, have these compliance risks and our time spent on these accounts. Commencing April 1, 2017, we are therefore instituting a monthly $35 fee, together with a 0.1 % cash transaction fee, reflecting the investment required by cPort to service these accounts.

Please find enclosed our cannabis-related business account fee schedule.

LETS KEEP ON WRITING THOSE TESTIMONIES!

The Joint Select Committee on Marijuana Legalization Implementation is hosting another Public Meeting at 9 a.m. Friday, March 17th, in Cross Building 216, Augusta, Maine.

"An act to change the oversight Agency for Recreational Marijuana from the Dept of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to the Department of Administration and Financial Services, Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations and to allocate Funds for Implementation"

Again, please copy MMCM when you send your testimony to:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  (Committee Clerk)

Those who cannot attend the meeting are welcome to send emails of any written testimony. Those who do come bring 25 copies

We need to stick together… as communities joining across Maine!

Everyone has seen Municipalities take an aggressive stance in the wake of the Adult Use vote in November. Some have enacted land use Ordinances and Zoning, while others have outright Banned (Newport). Many Municipalities have also not bothered to distinguish between Medical providers from Adult Use providers.
Another consideration on the table will be LD 672 "An Act To Clarify a Municipality's Authority To Adopt and Enforce Land Use Regulations for Marijuana Facilities"
We would like to ask help from the general public to Confront this and be present to advise Municipalities so that we do not suffer an unintentionally altered Medical access issue taken on at the Local level.
ACTION: We would like to ask members of the general public, patients and other concerned citizens to reach out, by either calling or emailing our office. Let us know if you know of municipalities which are enacting these local rules. Information you provide us with... can help protect Maine’s Patients and Caregivers from costly legislative errors made at the local level. We will need all members of our communities to engage, to help educate our local selectmen and town representatives on how we can improve situations that towns face across Maine. MMCM would like to track these municipalities so that we can help to organize community outreach and engagement with these municipalities. This will be a complex task and we need YOUR help!!
MMCM Office Phone: (207) 596-3501
MMCM Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
MMCM Municipality Tracking Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/.../2599821844559.../admin_activities

Another note, on the Federal side....

HR 975 Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2017

This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide that the Act's regulatory controls and administrative, civil and criminal penalties do not apply to a person who produces, possesses, distributes, dispenses, administers, or delivers marijuana in compliance with state laws.

Lets encourage folks to call or email their congress and senate Representatives in Washington DC; that would be Polliquin, Pingree, Collins, and King. Ask them to vote for and co-sponsor HR975, Respect Marijuana Laws Act of 2017 in the 115th Congress. Request a written response....

We need your Support! Come on Folks ….. Save our Medical Program

Next week on Tuesday April 4th at 1PM, there will be a Public Hearing on LD 1064 "An Act To Require That Health Insurance Policies Cover Medical Marijuana".

The Hearing will take place in Cross Bldg. Rm # 220. You can come and submit 2-3 minutes of verbal testimony to the Committee or Submit written testimony. Instead of printing of 20 copies, we would advise you to print off your own, and submit a digital copy to the clerk via email (toner is Pricey).

Submit your testimony to the Committee Clerk, Veronica Snow. Her email is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Audio Link for the Committee is provided here, so feel free to listen in!
Audio Link: Audio Link: http://legislature.maine.gov/Audio/#220

Also, Same Day same time.....
There will be a Work Session on LD 243 “An Act To Change the oversight Agency for Recreational Marijuana from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations and to Allocate Funds for Implementation”
The Hearing will take place in Cross Bldg Rm #216.

Submit your testimony to the Committee Clerk, Steven Langlin. His email is
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

What a Great Idea…for our Caregivers!

A letter sent in by one of MMCM’s dedicated members at work.....

“Catherine you are a gem! A diplomatic, sane and logical voice for the MMJ program. Listening to you last night at MMCM monthly networking meeting and, this morning on *WVOM gave me the push to start a letter campaign with my patients to their respective local representatives. Free medicine for a copy of their letter to the proper representatives. Thank You! Its' not impossible to achieve our goals, just a lot of hard work. My crew and I are rolling our sleeves up! Time to work”

*Listen to Catherine Lewis, President of MMCM, on WVOM radio this morning...responding to Governor LePages’s Comments on Medical Marijuana...... click here

Interesting News!

With recreational marijuana sales on horizon, Maine's MMJ program surges

The medical marijuana program in Maine is red-hot, with the number of MMJ patients swelling in the past year. But the reason for the program's success appears to be quite different than for other states' growing MMJ industries - and it could have an impact on the state's new adult-use industry. For more details, check out our exclusive Chart of the Week: https://mjbizdaily.com/?p=66911
Marijuana Business Daily | A Division of Anne Holland Ventures Inc.

Congress Ties Jeff Sessions' Hands on Medical Marijuana

poAt least for now, the DOJ is likely to be barred from going after pot growers, sellers and users in states where medical weed's legal.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is the bogey man to many in the nation's burgeoning marijuana industry. Many pot entrepreneurs fear that the nation's top law enforcement officer – who once said "good people don't smoke pot" – will use the full force of the federal government to raid their businesses, even though the majority of U.S. voters support legal or recreational marijuana.
But this week, medicinal marijuana business owners and patients are breathing a sigh of relief: The compromise bill to fund the government through September includes an extension of a provision that keeps Sessions' hands tied by explicitly barring the Department of Justice from using its resources to go after marijuana growers, sellers and users in the more than two dozen states, plus D.C., that have legalized medical marijuana – though, inexplicably, North Dakota and Indiana were left out (possibly because of a clerical error).
"Sessions is a tremendous concern. On the other hand, I don't think the Trump administration is going to want to see him busting into states that have thoughtfully legalized marijuana and the larger number of states that have legalized medical marijuana," Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon tells Rolling Stone. "I think it would cost Trump dearly amongst his support group if Sessions were to carry out that mission."


Read more here: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/congress-ties-jeff-sessions-hands-on-medical-marijuana-w480509

COME JOIN US …………. Review and Q & A Session

Proposed New Rules for Medical Marijuana in Maine

MMCM will be having a forum on Monday, June 12th, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
at the Homegrown Healthcare Alternative Wellness , Apothecary & Learning Center located at : 662 Stanley Road, Winthrop, ME 04364

Speakers will include:
Matt Dubois, Dubois Law, http://duboislawmaine.com
Chris McCabe, McCabe Law, LLC, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Logan Perkins, Silverstein Law, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This will happen two days Prior to the Public Hearing on JUNE 14th, 2017
9:00am – Noon
Augusta Civic Center
76 Community Drive, Augusta, ME

Link to Proposed New Rules for Medical Marijuana in Maine
http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/attach.php?id=754500&an=1

We all need to be there... or at least a written testimony! Deadline for public Comment is 5pm 6/26/17

Email Comments to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.: or submit online at CDC Website http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/rules/rulemaking_comments.shtml?id=754500

See MMCM's LIVE Review and Q&A Session on the proposed new rules for medical marijuana in Maine

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