Maine’s Office of Cannabis Policy released three major pieces of guidance to help reconcile recent legislative changes with rule-making.
The guidance documents address the following:
Final Form Testing in Maine’s Adult Use Cannabis Market
“Pursuant to recent changes to the Cannabis Legalization Act and the rules governing the Adult
Use Cannabis Program, licensees are no longer required to conduct mandatory testing on
cannabis and cannabis products every time the cannabis and cannabis product is transferred to
another licensee. Licensees may now conduct mandatory testing on cannabis and cannabis
products in their “final form” prior to transfer by the licensee to a cannabis store. Licensees may
also opt to conduct mandatory testing for some analyte categories before the cannabis or
cannabis product is in its final form for sale to consumers (pesticides, residual solvents and
metals) – for these analyte categories, testing of the cannabis or cannabis product is not required
if all harvest and/or production batches combined to create the item in its final form have already
passed mandatory testing for those analytes.”
“With that in mind, OCP will be adding an eighth category of analytes for which testing will be
mandatory. Beginning on Thursday, December 12, 2022, cannabis and cannabis products to be
transferred for sale to consumers, as applicable, will be subject to mandatory testing for
pesticides.
As of December 12, 2022, the eight required analyte categories will be:
1. Filth and foreign materials
2. Dangerous molds and mildews
3. Harmful microbes
4. THC potency, homogeneity, and cannabinoid profiles
5. Water activity
6. Other harmful chemicals (metals, including cadmium, lead, arsenic, and mercury)
7. Residual solvents
8. Pesticides”
Guidance on how to conduct Curbside Pickup and Delivery
“Adult use cannabis store licensees preparing to offer curbside pickup and/or delivery of
adult use cannabis and adult use cannabis products are reminded that they may not
conduct such authorized activities until the licensee has received from OCP approval of
their updated facility plan in accordance with Section 3.5.4 of 18-691 CMR, ch. 1.Licensees intending to conduct sales by delivery are further reminded that the laws
governing adult use cannabis delivery and tobacco retail sales limit the places where
deliveries may occur, as well as the kinds of cannabis and cannabis products that can be
delivered.Licensees with questions regarding facility plans can contact OCP’s licensing team at
licensing.ocp@maine.gov. Licensees with questions regarding security requirements
and implementation of these new authorized activities can contact OCP’s compliance
team at compliance.ocp@maine.gov.”
Reminder to our clients and friends that if you are not receiving Guidance Docs and updates from the Office of Cannabis Policy for Adult Use and/or Medical programs, make sure to sign up on the OCP website here: https://www.maine.gov/dafs/ocp/about/stay-connected