Both the Maine House and Senate passed a bill that will provide the framework for recreational marijuana use and sales in Maine. Both chambers passed the bill with veto-proof majorities. The bill, somewhat more restrictive than the bill Governor LePage vetoed last year, eliminates social clubs, internet sales, delivery, and drive through window sales. The bill, as amended, also makes clear that marijuana is limited to adult use, and will eliminate the so-called gifting loophole. It also extends the residency requirement to four years for those seeking the first licenses to sell recreational marijuana, and cuts the number of plants an individual may possess from six to three. It also raises the effective tax rate from 10 to 20 percent, and directs 6 percent of those taxes collected to law enforcement. (All of the tax revenue continues to go to the state, however; none is retained by the locality in which the tax is collected). At present, the first licenses for recreational marijuana sales should be issued in the Spring of 2019, subject to local regulation (or prohibition).
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On Monday, November 6, the House sustained the Governor’s veto of the marijuana bill that was passed by the legislature after months of work by the Joint Select Committee on Marijuana Legalization Implementation. The current state-wide moratorium on recreational sales expires on February 1. The legislature reconvenes in January and it is possible the moratorium could be extended, or the bill revisited. If neither happens, the ballot box law’s provisions would go into effect, which would arguably permit minors to possess marijuana, allow sales via the internet and drive-through windows, require localities to opt out rather than opt in, reduce tax revenues from marijuana sales, remove preferences for Maine residents, etc. House Minority Leader Fredette sought to extend the moratorium on Monday but failed due to the Democratic leadership’s rejection of the proposal.
On Friday, November 3, Governor LePage vetoed the marijuana bill, which had been the result of a months-long effort of the marijuana legalization implementation committee. If the House votes the same way it did in passing the bill last month, the House would not have enough votes to override the Governor’s veto. Without the new bill, the existing Marijuana Legalization Act would remain in force, but a moratorium on commercial portions of the law (sales, etc.) would also remain in effect until February. The legislature will reconvene Monday, when supporters of the bill are expected to seek to overturn the veto, which will require a two-thirds majority in both houses.
On October 23, in a special session, the Maine House and Senate passed the revised marijuana bill, but the votes fell short of the two-thirds majority that would be required to override Governor LePage’s threatened veto. LePage has ten days within which to sign the bill, veto it, or let it become law without his signature. He supported a measure that was defeated that would have extended the current moratorium.
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After conducting a public hearing on September 26, the Maine Legalization Implementation Committee agreed to further revisions to the bill that would govern the cultivation and sale of recreational marijuana and other aspects of the voters’ decision to legalize marijuana earlier this year. The revisions are in the process of being incorporated into a revised draft, which the Committee expects to be available for public review on October 10. It is expected that the legislature will consider the bill on October 23. If the bill passes, many expect Governor LePage to veto it, and to resist implementation if the legislature were to override his expected veto.
The committee adopted the bill, as revised, 13-2. The revised bill calls for a 10% sales tax and a 10% excise tax based on weight. Provisions allowing for internet and drive-through sales and permitting medical marijuana dispensaries to convert from non-profit to for-profit were stricken from the bill.
The Joint Select Committee on Marijuana Legalization Implementation is holding a public session on Tuesday, September 26, in room 228 of the State House in Augusta, at 9am, for comments on the proposed revisions to the Marijuana Legalization Act. The committee has scheduled work days for the 27th and 28th, and, assuming the committee approves a revised draft bill, it is expected that the legislature would vote on the bill in October, during a special one-day session to consider both marijuana and ranked choice voting.
You can click on the following links to view the existing law with analyst annotations comparing it to the propsed bill, as well as the full text of the committee’s proposed bill:
Recreational marijuana sales would be taxed at a 20% rate (voters had approved a 10% rate); medical marijuna would be taxed at 5.5%;
Internet and drive-through sales of recreational marijuana would be allowed;
dispensaries and caregivers could become eligible to sell recreational marijuana (at different counters);
dispensaries could convert from non-profit to for-profit companies;
marijuana social clubs, which would be prohibited from selling (or giving away) alcohol and/or tobacco, would be licensed starting June 1, 2019;
at present, it appears marijuana purchased at social clubs would have to be consumed, not smoked, on premises and purchasers could not take any marijuana off-premises;
5% of taxes collected would go to the host municipality of the marijuana facility (the rest to the state), plus an additional 1% of statewide tax revenue would be distributed to localities equally that had a cultivation facility, products manufacturing facility, marijuana store, and/or marijuana social club in the prior month (so for $10,000 in monthly sales, a municipality could expect to see $100 in tax revenue, plus its cut of the 1% of statewide revenue);
individuals 21 years of age and older could use, possess, and/or transport marijuana paraphernalia and up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, cultivate or transport up to 6 mature marijuana plants and up to 12 immature plants and an unlimited number of seedlings;
marijuana may be consumed only in a private residence (including “curtilage” (land immediately surrounding the residence) or on private property not generally accessible by the public with explicity permission from the property owner;
marijuana may not be consumed in a vehicle;
marijuana may not be consumed in a day care facility or at the location of a baby-sitting service during operating hours (after hours, you can get as high as you want at day care, apparently); and
the bill also establishes various requirements for licensing, fees, labeling, packaging, tracking, testing, inspection, record-keeping, regulation, etc., and penalties for violation thereof.
