Maine Marijuana Laws
This state has legalized marijuana for medical use.
IB 2015, c. 5 – Passed 2016
7 MRS, Chapter 417 – Passed 2017
How The Law Reads:
Maine has allowed prescribing, and limited possession, of medical marijuana since 1999 but the law lacked any distribution mechanism and questions arose of noncompliance with federal law and of how patients could legally obtain the prescribed marijuana. On November 3, 2009 Maine voters approved Question 5, which enacted the citizen-initiated bill, “An act to establish the Maine Medical Marijuana Act” (LD 975, IB 2). The committee file for LD 975 contains additional information, such as the activity schedule, testimony sign-in sheet, testimony submitted at the public hearing, working papers and memoranda of the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services, and the committee vote tally sheet. (The contents of the file are not word searchable.)
Previous Measures – Question 2 Approved Nov. 2, 1999 by 61.4% of voters;
Question 1 Approved Nov. 8, 2016 by 50.17% of voters.
Who will regulate marijuana?
Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Approved diagnosis Approved diagnosis: Epilepsy and other disorders characterized by seizures; glaucoma; multiple sclerosis and other disorders characterized by muscle spasticity; and nausea or vomiting as a result of AIDS or cancer chemotherapy.
Possession/Cultivation: Patients (or their primary caregivers) may legally possess no more than one and one-quarter (1.25) ounces of usable marijuana, and may cultivate no more than six marijuana plants, of which no more than three may be mature. Those patients who possess greater amounts of marijuana than allowed by law are afforded a “simple defense” to a charge of marijuana possession.
Amended: Senate Bill 611
Effective: Signed into law on Apr. 2, 2002
Increases the amount of usable marijuana a person may possess from one and one-quarter (1.25) ounces to two and one-half (2.5) ounces.
Amended: Question 5 – Approved Nov. 3, 2009 by 59% of voters
List of approved conditions changed to include cancer, glaucoma, HIV, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, Alzheimer’s, nail-patella syndrome, chronic intractable pain, cachexia or wasting syndrome, severe nausea, seizures (epilepsy), severe and persistent muscle spasms, and multiple sclerosis.
Instructs the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to establish a registry identification program for patients and caregivers. Stipulates provisions for the operation of nonprofit dispensaries.
[Editor’s Note: An Aug. 19, 2010 email to ProCon.org from Catherine M. Cobb, Director of Maine’s Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services, stated:
“We have just set up our interface to do background checks on caregivers and those who are associated with dispensaries. They may not have a disqualifying drug offense.”]
Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Program (MMMP)
Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services
Department of Health and Human Services
11 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
Phone: 207-287-4325
Website:
Maine Medical Marijuana Program
