2. STATE ADULT USE MARIJUANA LAWS
Legalized use of marijuana for adult use purposes
Legalized sales of marijuana for adult use purposes in municipalities who opt-in
Required State licenses for adult use marijuana stores, cultivation facilities,
manufacturing facilities, and testing facilities
Prohibited social clubs
3. STATE MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW
Legalized use and distribution of marijuana for medical purposes
Established State registration for caregivers, dispensaries, manufacturing facilities,
and testing facilities
Allowed caregiver to have retail stores in municipalities that have opted in
No limits on registered dispensaries
4. MUNICIPAL OPT-IN
Adult Use Marijuana Law
• 28-B M.R.S. §402 –“. . . a municipality may not accept as complete the person’s request for
local authorization unless . . . The legislative body of the municipality has voted to adopt a
new ordinance, amend an existing ordinance or approve a warrant article allowing some or
all types of marijuana establishments within the municipality, including the type of marijuana
establishment the person seeks to operate.”
Medical Marijuana Law
• 22 M.R.S. §2429-D –“A municipality may not . . . authorize caregiver retail stores, registered
dispensaries, marijuana testing facilities and manufacturing facilities unless the municipal
legislative body . . . has voted to adopt or amend an ordinance or approve a warrant
article allowing caregiver retail stores, registered dispensaries, marijuana testing facilities, or
manufacturing facilities, as applicable, to operate within the municipality.”
5. MUNICIPAL OPT-IN
DEFAULT IS PROHIBITION
Unless a municipality’s legislative body has
voted to allow a particular type of marijuana
establishment identified by either statute, that
type of establishment is prohibited in that
municipality.
6. MUNICIPAL OPT-IN
DEFAULT IS PROHIBITION
Adult Use Establishments
Adult use retail stores
Cultivation facilities
Manufacturing facilities
Testing facilities
Medical Establishments
Caregiver retail stores
Registered dispensaries
Manufacturing facilities
Testing facilities
7. ADULT USE RETAIL STORES
A marijuana store is a facility authorized to sell marijuana and marijuana products
directly to consumers.
Marijuana stores are also authorized to sell marijuana paraphernalia, and other
non-consumable products (like clothing), as well as consumable products that do
not contain marijuana, (like soda or candy).
Marijuana stores may not sell tobacco or alcohol products that do not also
contain marijuana. Adult use marijuana sales with the use of vending machines,
drive-through windows, internet-based platforms, and deliveries, are prohibited.
The co-location of adult use and medical marijuana retail stores is also prohibited.
8. ADULT USE CULTIVATION FACILITIES
A cultivation facility is a facility licensed to grow, prepare, and package marijuana.
Cultivation licensees are authorized to sell the marijuana they grow and package
to other establishments licensed under the Adult Use Marijuana Act
Cultivation facilities may not sell marijuana to registered caregivers or
dispensaries distributing marijuana pursuant to Maine’s medical marijuana laws.
They also cannot sell marijuana to consumers unless they have a separate
marijuana store license.
A cultivation licensee may fall within one of 4 tiers of cultivation facility licenses,
depending on the plant canopy square footage.
9. ADULT USE MANUFACTURING FACILITIES
A products manufacturing facility is authorized to blend, infuse, or extract
components of the marijuana plant to make marijuana products such as
ointments, tinctures, or edibles, for sale to marijuana stores or other marijuana
products manufacturing facilities.
Products manufacturing sometimes requires extraction of marijuana concentrate
using hazardous solvents such as butane or methyl alcohol.
A products manufacturing facility that is going to perform this type of extraction
must obtain certification from a professional engineer that the proposed
extraction method is safe.
10. ADULT USE TESTING FACILITIES
The purpose of a testing facility is to conduct research, analysis and testing of
marijuana and marijuana products for contamination, potency, and safety.
As the quality assurance arm of the industry, testing facility licensees are strictly
prohibited from engaging in other aspects of the adult use or medical marijuana
industry
Testing facility licensees may not be registered caregivers, or have any interest in
a medical marijuana dispensary or any other adult use marijuana establishment.
Testing facilities must be certified by the Department of Health and Human
Services and Maine Center for Disease Control, and must be accredited under
standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization.
11. MEDICAL CAREGIVER RETAIL STORES
"Caregiver retail store" means a store that has attributes generally associated
with retail stores, including, but not limited to, a fixed location, a sign, regular
business hours, accessibility to the public and sales of goods or services directly
to a consumer, and that is used by a registered caregiver to offer marijuana plants
or harvested marijuana for sale to qualifying patients.
12. MEDICAL REGISTERED DISPENSARIES
Registered dispensary" or "dispensary" means an entity registered under section
2425-A that acquires, possesses, cultivates, manufactures, delivers, transfers,
transports, sells, supplies or dispenses marijuana plants or harvested marijuana
or related supplies and educational materials to qualifying patients and the
caregivers of those patients.
13. MEDICAL MANUFACTURING FACILITIES
Vertically integrated caregivers and dispensaries can manufacture products from
their own marijuana by virtue of state registration
Manufacturing facility registration needed to manufacture products from other
caregiver/dispensary/patient’s marijuana, or if using inherently hazardous
substances (IHS)
Vertically integrated caregivers/dispensaries only need state registration if using IHS
or manufacturing for others
Some medical marijuana manufacturing may occur legally in municipalities that
have not opted in to medical marijuana manufacturing facilities
14. MEDICAL TESTING FACILITIES
• Marijuana testing facility. "Marijuana testing facility" means a public or private
laboratory that’s authorized to analyze contaminants in and the potency and
cannabinoid profile of samples provided by qualifying patients, caregivers,
dispensaries and manufacturing facilities
15. MEDICAL MARIJUANA CULTIVATION
No such thing as “Medical Cultivation Facilities”
Medical marijuana cultivation allowed by virtue of state registration
Municipalities may not prohibit or limit the number of caregivers
No way for municipalities to opt in to, or prohibit, medical marijuana cultivation –but
they can regulate it
16. PRE-EXISTING FACILITIES
Some Medical Marijuana Establishments are Grandfathered
• Municipalities cannot prohibit caregiver stores, dispensaries, manufacturing facilities and
testing facilities in operation with municipal approval before December 13, 2018
• “Municipal approval” means examination or approval of the establishment for its
medical marijuana use (e.g. conditional use or site plan approval)
• Municipal approval is NOT a building or electrical permit
17. WHAT NEW GLOUCESTER CAN DO:
• New Gloucester can opt in or keep all marijuana prohibited (not to include
caregivers)
• If we opt-in we are able to limit where marijuana establishments (not to include
caregivers) are able to go (for example if we chose to allow recreational use cultivation
we could limit it to just the farm and forest district)
• We do not need to opt in to all facets of adult use (recreational) or medical marijuana
(for example we could choose to allow recreational use cultivation and still prohibit
adult use retail stores)
18. CONTACT
• Natalie Thomsen, Town Planner
• Town of New Gloucester
• 385 Intervale Road
• New Gloucester, ME 04260
• 207-926-4126, Ext. 4
• townplanner@newgloucester.com
