AUGUSTA - Rep. Lynne Williams, D-Bar Harbor, presented LD 1928, An Act To Update and Clarify the Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Act and Provide for Greater Transparency, before the Legislature's Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee on Monday.
The bill would clarify new rulemaking parameters for the Office of Marijuana Policy (OMP) and define the role of the Legislature in the rulemaking process.
"This bill will provide protections for Maine's medical marijuana patients, their caregivers and small, locally-owned businesses," said Williams. "By establishing better parameters for OMP and solidifying the Legislature's responsibility in the rulemaking process, we will ensure that medical marijuana patients will continue to receive the care that they need, while caregivers and businesses can continue to thrive."
LD 1928 would implement changes to make the Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Act clearer and more specific, reducing the need for interpretation in rulemaking and protecting against administrative overreach. It would also require OMP to evaluate the economic effects of its rules on small businesses, establish a legislative review and authorization process for new rules, require public access to sales data related to the state's medical marijuana program transactions and limit the circumstances in which law enforcement may enter manufacturing and testing facilities, among other provisions.
"This bill is important to the health of the medical cannabis industry in Maine," said Mark Barnett, executive chair of the Maine Craft Cannabis Association. "It includes much-needed protections for patients rights and for the industry."
The Legislature's Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee will hold a work session on the bill in the coming weeks.
Williams, a member of the Legislature's Transportation Committee, is serving her first term in the Maine House and represents Bar Harbor, Lamoine and Mount Desert.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [Williams], c. 812-1111