$20,000 to legal recreational marijuana in your city? Maine Tries To Pay Cities $20,000 To Let Rec Weed In!

In April, Gov. Janet Mills of Maine signed a bill into law to help local governments meet some of the costs of incorporating recreational cannabis business facilities into their communities. All cities that have elected to participate in the cannabis program will receive a minimum of $20,000 to cover the costs of registering for the program.

The new measure will help cities and municipalities meet their legal fees, meetings, elections, drafting or amendment of ordinances and all other expenses related to Maine’s recreational cannabis program. Legislative Document 1195 authorizes $20,000 for each city that agrees to host cannabis businesses.

About the bill

Representative Tiffany Roberts is the main sponsor of this legislation. The South Berwick representative stated that cities associated with the state’s cannabis industry may not see a return on their investments for a while; It is therefore the task of the state to reduce operating costs. While cities are helping to offset legal cannabis use, the bill will allow the state to reimburse some of the costs incurred. This means these municipalities can focus more on enacting appropriate regulations for operators in their jurisdictions, while encouraging residents and other local businesses to partner with the new industry.

Each city’s $20,000 in funding will be generated from the state’s municipal recreational public health and safety cannabis opt-in fund. Maine House Democrats explained that this opt-in fund will be funded by the revenue from sales and use taxes imposed on the new industry.

When the law was signed into law in April, lawmakers made it clear that it would be implemented in 90 days – at the end of July.

Now that LD 1195 is in full effect, the state will begin reimbursing all cities and towns for specified expenses under the cannabis program.

reason for this calculation

Before this bill was approved, less than 10% of Maine’s municipalities agreed to go with the adult cannabis program. The bill was passed primarily to incentivize cities and towns to host cannabis operators in their areas.

Program legislators and stakeholders believe that cost is one of the main reasons why 90% of municipalities have chosen not to allow cannabis-related operations in their jurisdictions. State sponsorship is one of the state’s strategies for promoting cannabis businesses within its borders.

The truth is that it doesn’t matter if a town or city legally sanctions or chooses to sanction the state’s cannabis program because no matter what happens, cannabis is still sold, bought and consumed in varying amounts. In fact, it’s the city’s loss. Erik Gundersen, head of the state cannabis office, commented that cities need to consider the health and safety of their residents before making any decision. A legal cannabis industry seeks to ensure that all cannabis on the market is regulated and safe for consumption.

City of Maine Director of Advocacy and Communications Kate Dufour dropped her own two cents. She noted that the $20,000 in reimbursement funds may not be enough; however, it’s more or less cold consolation for communities that need help or forgo revenue sharing.

Qualifying Expenses

Maine’s Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) launched an online portal a week ago for municipalities to register for reimbursement.

As previously mentioned, only municipalities designated for the state adult cannabis program qualify for this fund. Reportedly, all qualifying spend for this fund must have occurred within the last 36 months. The spending must also be directly related to the city’s process of establishing its own facility of adult cannabis programs in Maine. This includes all costs related to legal fees, cannabis regulation drafts, public meetings and other

Several cities and counties are actively filling out the refund application form. The OCP still has to set a deadline for this.

Legislation and sales of recreational cannabis in Maine

Maine launched its adult retail program 22 months ago, in October 2020. The program has generated over $100 million in revenue since its inception in 2020. According to the state Bureau of Marijuana Policy, the state recorded $80 million in recreational cannabis sales in 201 alone.

The total number of adult-use cannabis transactions completed in the first two quarters of this year far exceeds 200,000.

According to a recent survey by the State Office for Cannabis Policy (OCP), over 60% of cannabis users purchased their products from licensed dispensaries in the past month. Less than 36% source their smokable and cannabis-infused products through unregulated pipelines.

The same survey also found that 6.1% of Mainers use cannabis from state-licensed retailers. In contrast, just over 1% uses illegal sources.

In addition, the OCP found that the state has had an oversupply of medicinal cannabis since the recreational market began. Despite the fact that 54% of marijuana users who purchase from home caregivers do not have a medical marijuana ID card and that 33% of users who purchase from medicinal dispensaries or caregivers who sell adult products also do not have a medical card, there is an oversupply of medicinal cannabis in Maine.

28% of respondents said they rarely have any idea of ​​the THC content of the products they use. While 10% said they prefer products with 50% and more THC products. 4% said they like their products to contain between 35 and 50% THC, while the rest enjoy their recreational cannabis with less than 20% cannabis.

Mainers prefer cannabis flower over other types of cannabis products. This preference is followed by edibles, concentrates, topical or creams, drinks, tinctures, and gummies.

bottom line

In 2021, Maine had the lowest sales per capita among eight states with an adult-use cannabis program. With the new bill, cannabis sales are expected to increase significantly across the state. All demographics will have easy access to affordable and safe cannabis programs as different cities and communities would choose to benefit from the additional funding.

In no time, legal cannabis companies will be competing with each other to satisfy consumers and produce inexpensive, high-quality cannabis flower and fortified products.

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