Recreational marijuana business options plentiful in Maine draft bill

A recreational marijuana draft bill crafted by Maine lawmakers would permit the state’s eight licensed medical marijuana dispensaries to apply for a license to sell adult-use cannabis, but they couldn’t sell medical and recreational products at the same counter.

Rather, Maine would require retailers that sell both medical and adult-use cannabis to have separate entrances for medical patients and recreational consumers, as is done in Colorado, the Portland Press Herald reported.

According to the newspaper, business-friendly highlights of the 70-page draft bill include:

• MMJ dispensaries could convert from not-for-profit entities to for-profits.
• Internet cannabis sales and deliveries would be permitted.
• Drive-thru marijuana sales would be allowed, if they’re not banned by local communities.
• Cannabis social clubs would be permitted – but not until June 2019.

Cultivation, manufacturing, testing, packaging and labeling would be regulated by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, the Press Herald reported.

The draft bill – which gets its first public hearing Sept. 26 – also would mandate a 20% tax rate for recreational marijuana, according to the newspaper.

Maine’s recreational marijuana market is expected to launch in 2018.