Marijuana

Maine's child welfare agency received twice as many reports last year of children who ingested drugs, which experts said is likely attributable in part to the availability of edible marijuana products.

Nearly 2 1/2 years after adult-use cannabis sales began in Maine, regulators here have cited no stores for selling to minors and are just developing plans for the kinds of random checks regularly conducted at alcohol retailers.

It’s been more than 16 months since recreational marijuana became legal to buy in Maine. But you won’t find a “pot shop” in roughly 90% of the towns and cities across Maine because voters or local leaders have yet to embrace the cannabis industry.

While that case will be adjudicated in federal court, its alleged exploitation of Maine's medical cannabis law is prompting some to advocate for stricter regulations and more oversight by the state Office of Marijuana Policy, or OMP.

Allegations that a licensed caregiver in Maine’s medical marijuana industry sold $13 million in marijuana illegally are drawing attention to recent actions by the Maine Legislature to stop new rules that would have more closely tracked medical marijuana sales.

Prosecutors say that the leader used his medical marijuana business to sell $13 million worth of illegal pot over six years, including more than $1 million worth's out-of-state. They also accuse him of tax evasion and conspiring to commit money laundering and bank fraud, among other charges.

Residents in the Maine town of Lebanon are going to vote whether to recall several town leaders in a flap that grew out of the select board chairman's decision to take a farmer's pot plants.

A fear of the unknown is a significant reason, Pepin said. In addition, he said, some municipalities might not see much in it for them. Excise and sales taxes from retail stores go entirely to the state rather than to the communities where they’re located.

The plaintiffs argued that the requirement devalued their company by limiting potential investors and stifled dispensaries statewide by limiting investment opportunities.

July sales of adult-use marijuana have once again broken records, with more than $9.4 million in retail sales — that's $3 million more than in June.