Maine officials condemn the influx of illegal cannabis activity

The top Maine cannabis official raised the alarm this week over illegal behavior related to the state’s medical marijuana industry and illegal cannabis.

Erik Gundersen, director of the Maine Office of Marijuana Policy, made the comments to the Maine Legislature’s Marijuana Advisory Commission, which held a meeting Tuesday.

The Bangor Daily News reported that Gundersen told the commission that “he believes there is more illegal activity related to the state’s medical marijuana industry and that his office has few resources to prevent medical cannabis from growing the black market, “said his office of 12 field auditors, who are nowhere near enough” to provide the necessary oversight if the auditors only come to the registrants every four to five years “.

Gundersen noted that “the vast majority of nurses in the medical marijuana industry obey the rules,” but that illegal activities still persist.

“It’s an economic thing. You can do the math quickly and behind the napkin, ”said Gundersen, as quoted by the Bangor Daily News. “I could imagine that it would be easy to break into the grayer areas.”

Both recreational and medical marijuana are legal in Maine. It was reported that Gundersen told the Legislative Commission that his “office has fewer opportunities to regulate the medical applications market than the recreational market, which retailed only last year.”

Maine voters legalized medical cannabis back in 1999 and did the same for recreational marijuana in 2016 – despite opposition from former Maine Governor Paul LePage, who opposed the legalization, to its introduction.

LePage vetoed laws that would have implemented the voter-approved bill in 2017, but state lawmakers lifted its veto the following year.

In 2018, Maine voters elected another governor, Democrat Janet Mills, who was quick to put the new marijuana law into effect. Mills signed a bill in June 2019, months after he was sworn in, that helped finally implement what voters had wanted years earlier.

In October last year, leisure tub sales finally began in the state. By May, the state had made $ 5.3 million in recreational pot sales, which was the top-selling month since the market opened at the time.

Gundersen said at the time that one of the “main goals of cannabis legalization is to reduce the illegal market”.

“The strong monthly growth here in Maine, just seven months after the industry officially launched, suggests that more and more consumers are choosing the tested, tracked and well-regulated market over the illegal market,” Gundersen said at the time. “This is a positive sign of the health of Mainers and the viability of the industry. With Maine’s busy summer season, our effective regulation of the industry continues. “

In August, the state doubled that amount and took in more than $ 10 million in recreational pot products.

Despite these successes, Gundersen’s comments this week served as a reminder of the resilience of the illegal marijuana market, even in states and cities that have embraced legalization.

For example, in California, where voters legalized recreational cannabis use five years ago, “fully legal weed makes up only a fraction of the state’s marijuana market, with some experts estimating that 80 to 90 percent of cannabis sales in California are still are legal “. Gray Area, ”according to a National Public Radio report last week.

Gundersen said Tuesday that “certainly one of the underlying goals of a legalized market is to eradicate the traditional market”.

“And that’s one of the things I think we are struggling with here in Maine,” he said, as quoted by the Bangor Daily News.