Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, provided the transaction occurs within one of Maine's actively licensed adult use cannabis stores.

Maine is home to both a medical cannabis program and an adult use industry. The medical program serves patients, while Maine’s adult use industry services consumers 21 years of age and older. Adult use cannabis and medical cannabis may not be dispensed from the same facility. Unless they have changed their license type or have a separate retail facility, existing caregiver retail stores and medical cannabis dispensaries are limited to selling cannabis and cannabis products to patients with valid medical cannabis credentials in their possession.

See: 28-B M.R.S. § 1501(1)(C)

In order to possess or consume adult use cannabis in Maine, you must be 21 years of age or older.

See: 28-B M.R.S. § 1501

Using cannabis in any form (smoking, eating or vaping) isn’t allowed in public places, including amusement parks, ski resorts, sporting and music venues, state and national parks, campsites, playgrounds, sidewalks and roads, cannabis retail businesses, bars, restaurants and outdoor or rooftop cafes.

Cannabis use is legal within the confines of private property. Just keep in mind that property owners, landlords, and rental companies can ban the use and possession of cannabis on their premises.

See: 28-B M.R.S. § 1501(2)(A)

Cannabis is legal under State of Maine law. Federally, it is not legal. If you’re on federal property, such as a national park or a border crossing, you can’t even have it in your possession.

See: 21 U.S.C. § 812

It is illegal to use cannabis in a vehicle. This goes for both the passenger and the driver.
It is also illegal to drive under the influence of cannabis. You could be charged with an OUI. 

See: 28-B M.R.S. § 1501(2)(B)(1), 29-A M.R.S. § 2411

Adults 21 years of age or older can possess up to 2.5 ounces of a combination of cannabis, cannabis concentrate and cannabis products, including no more than 5 grams of cannabis concentrate.

See: 28-B M.R.S. § 1501(1)(B)

Mainers can grow cannabis for personal use. As many as six mature, 12 immature plants, and an unlimited number of seedlings are allowed per resident 21 years of age or older. 

These restrictions do not apply to the cultivation of cannabis for medical use by a qualifying patient, a caregiver, a registered caregiver or a registered dispensary as authorized by the Maine Medical Use of Cannabis Act.

See: 28-B M.R.S. § 1502(1)

First, keep it out of sight. An adult who chooses to grow plants for personal use must make sure their cannabis is not visible from a public way without the use of binoculars or other visual aid.

See: 28-B M.R.S. § 1502(2)(A)

Second, make sure it’s locked up. An adult who chooses to grow their own plants must take reasonable precautions to prevent unauthorized access by individuals under the age of 21.

See: Id. § 1502(2)(B)

Finally, make sure the ownership of the plants is clear to law enforcement that may come across them. If you’re growing cannabis for personal use, the plant(s) must be tagged with a legible label that includes your name, driver’s license or state identification card number, and a notation that the plant(s) are being grown as authorized by law.

For example:
Connor S. Sample, Jr.
ID: 1234567
Personal Adult Use: Title 28-B, Section 1502

See: Id. § 1502(2)(C)

If the parcel or tract of land you are growing on is owned by someone else, you must have their written permission to grow and care for your plants and include the landowners name on each plant’s label.

See: 28-B M.R.S. §§ 1502(1)(C) and (2)(C)

Active IIC holders in the Adult Use Cannabis Program (AUCP) can use OCP's online portal to request a replacement card. A step-by-step of this process is available here. 

Yes, a consumer who requests delivery to a private residence in Maine may receive an order by delivery regardless of whether that municipality has opted in to permit the operation of adult use stores within their community.

No, deliveries are prohibited in safe zones as defined in 30-A MRS § 3253.

A primary residence is that part of a structure with a fixed location used as a dwelling, which includes without limitation:

• A private home;
• Townhouse;
• Condominium;
• Apartment;
• Mobile home;
• Vacation home;
• Cabin; or
• Cottage

A primary residence is not:

• A dormitory of an educational institution or licensed summer camp;
• Inn, hotel, motel, lodging house, campground; or
• Private and public property including but not limited to schools, parks, parking lots, sidewalks, streets, nonresidential buildings or nonresidential portions of buildings maintained by private or public entities

A licensed adult use establishment that is authorized for delivery may deliver to a hotel or business as long as the licensee has received written consent for delivery to the hotel or business from an authorized employee of the hotel or business and the licensee retains a copy of the written consent.

See: 28-B M.R.S. § 504(9)(A)

Yes, nothing in OCP rules or the laws governing the Adult Use Cannabis Program prohibits purchasers from tipping their delivery driver or other cannabis store employees.

No, the laws governing the Adult Use Cannabis Program prohibit the use of an internet-based sales platform. Consumers are permitted to “reserve” or “request” their orders online, but payment must be received in-person through a face-to-face transaction after the age and identity of a purchaser has been confirmed.

No, only the person who placed the order may receive the order.

No, only the person who placed the order may receive the order.

Yes, a cannabis store licensee may deliver seeds, seedlings, immature cannabis plants, cannabis and cannabis products as well as other items sold by the cannabis store.

Anything not offered for sale at the cannabis store from which the licensee is delivering may not be delivered. (For instance, your delivery driver may not deliver a pizza or alcoholic beverages along side a delivery order for cannabis and cannabis products.)

The same transaction limits that apply to sales inside a brick and mortar cannabis store apply to sales conducted by delivery. Those limits are as follows:
2.5 oz of cannabis; or 
A combination of up to 2.5 oz of cannabis and cannabis products; which includes not more than a total of 5 grams of cannabis concentrate, whether that cannabis concentrate is sold alone or as ingredient in edible cannabis products; and 
Not more than a sum total of 12 seedlings or immature plants. 
There is no limit on the number of seeds a consumer may purchase at one time.

Between the hours of 10 PM and 7 AM, unless retail sales hours are further restricted by the municipality where the cannabis store’s licensed premises are located.

Only medical patients can buy medical cannabis in Maine. Individuals who have received a patient certification from a medical professional may legally access medical cannabis from a registered caregiver or dispensary. Cards are available to Maine residents only. 

Patients visiting Maine from another state may be able to purchase medical cannabis from a registered caregiver or dispensary if they have valid patient identification credentials (like a registry or patient identification card) and their state of residence allows them to use their state-issued credential to purchase medical cannabis in Maine.

See: 22 M.R.S. § 2423-A, Id. § 2423-C, Id. § 2425-A; Maine Medical Use of Cannabis Program

Until recently, dispensaries were required to by nonprofit entities and there was only one per Maine Department of Health and Human Services Public Health District. At present, the most notable difference is that dispensaries can grow an unlimited number of cannabis plants.

The cost for a patient certification depends on the medical provider conducting the examination and issuing the certification.

The Maine Medical Use of Cannabis Program provides patient cards to registered providers. In order to ensure patient access to the program, the State of Maine has never charged medical providers for the cards they provide to qualifying patients.

If an individual is interested in obtaining a medical card, they may wish to have those discussions with their primary care physician or other trusted medical provider. They may find in doing so that they are able to obtain a card at little to no cost to them.

Yes. A certifying provider must still issue to qualifying patients a physical patient certification on tamper-resistant paper provided by OCP, and the certifying provider may additionally provide to the qualifying patient a digital image of the patient's written certification. Any digital image of a patient certification provided by a certifying provider must contain all information included on the patient certification and must be legible in the digital image. It is the responsibility of registered caregivers and registered dispensaries to ensure that they transfer cannabis plants and harvested cannabis only to qualifying patients with a current, valid patient certification, or to other registrants otherwise authorized to possess cannabis for medical use, including but not limited to visiting, qualified out-of-state patients.

You may be interested in reviewing the annual reports or open data of the Maine Medical Use of Cannabis Program.

 

Complete and submit the appropriate medical use application(s). Supplemental instructions can be found for the following:

• Caregiver Online Application Instructions
• Dispensary Additional Instructions

Among other things, you will need to provide a copy of your State issued driver’s license or identification card. Please review all materials for completeness prior to submission to ensure their timely consideration and processing.

Current law requires the Department to approve or deny an initial application or a renewal within 30 days of receipt of a complete application. In the case of an approval, a registry identification card must be issued within five days of approval.

The average time frame to approve an application is currently one month.

See: 22 M.R.S. § 2425-A

The cost for a registry identification card varies depending on the number of plants being grown. At most, a registered caregiver may grow 30 mature plants or 500 square feet of mature plant canopy and 60 immature cannabis plants. The application fee for a canopy caregiver is $1,500.

Applications fees corresponding to total plant count with fees growing incrementally by $240.

Mature Plants	Immature Plants	Fee
6	12	$240
12	24	$480
18	36	$720
24	48	$960
30	60	$1,200

See: 22 M.R.S. §2425-A, 10-144 C.M.R. ch. 122, § 8(C)(1)

OCP’s guidance on visiting patients and a list of approved states can be found here: https://www.maine.gov/dafs/ocp/medical-use/certification-process/visiting-patients.

No. A visiting medical cannabis patient must possess photographic identification or a driver's license from the same jurisdiction as their valid medical cannabis credential.

See: 22 M.R.S. § 2423-D.

 

Changes to the definition of “cultivation area” and definitions for “immature plant canopy” and “mature plant canopy” can be found in 22 M.R.S. §2421-A. These new definitions were integrated into the authorized conduct for registered caregivers detailed in 22 M.R.S. § 2423-A(3)(B) and limited for dispensaries as detailed in 22 M.R.S. § 2428(6)(I).

22 M.R.S. § 2421-A(17) defines "cultivation area" as “an indoor or outdoor area used for cultivation of mature cannabis plants, immature cannabis plants or seedlings in accordance with this chapter. A cultivation area may include multiple indoor or outdoor areas, whether contiguous or noncontiguous, on the same parcel or tract of land.”

22 M.R.S. § 2423-A(3)(B) states that a registered caregiver may maintain up to two cultivation areas – one for mature plant canopy and another immature plant canopy. The location of the registered caregiver’s cultivation areas for mature and immature plant canopy must be disclosed to the department on the caregiver’s application for, or renewal of, a caregiver registry identification card. 

22 M.R.S. § 2428(6)(I) states that a registered dispensary may maintain one cultivation area at a location disclosed to the department on the dispensary’s application for, or renewal of, a dispensary registration certificate. 

For the purposes of this application, "qualifying expenses" means legal fees and costs associated with the drafting and adoption of a warrant article or the adoption or amendment of an ordinance. This includes the conduct of a town meeting or election by a municipality that opted to permit the operation of some or all adult use cannabis establishments within the municipality.

Examples of qualifying expenses include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Attorney's fees to research, draft and revise cannabis ordinances;  
• Staff and contractor time for research and drafting of cannabis ordinances, including staff time and overtime for council/planning board/town meetings;  
• Fees associated with providing notice of election and public meetings; 
• Staff time, including overtime and stipends, and other associated expenses, for the conduct of town meetings and elections and the tabulation and publication of the results thereof; 
• Attorney’s fees associated with development of legal opinions regarding local regulations; and  
• Other costs similar to or of the same character of the kinds of expenses listed above. 

Municipalities may request reimbursement for staff time in numerous ways. A municipality may provide a narrative statement or chart about staff time at public hearings, town meetings, and or preparation of such.

Examples:

Staff Member	Date/Time	Amount of Time	Hourly Rate	Total
Jane Doe, Clerk	9/2022, Public Hearing	2 hours	$25	$50
Jane Doe, Clerk	1/2022-9/2022 - 35 weeks	5 hours/week	$25	$4,375
John Doe, Town Manager	9/2022, Public Hearing	2 hours	$30	$60
John Doe, Town Manager	1/2022-9/2022 - 35 weeks	5 hours/week	$30	$5,250
				$9,735

No. At this time reimbursement is only permitted for costs associated with opting in to permit some or all kinds of adult use cannabis establishments to operate within your municipality.

In order to qualify for reimbursement for qualifying expenses, a municipality must opt-in to permit the operation of at least one of the following kinds of adult use cannabis establishments: cannabis cultivation facilities, products manufacturing facilities, cannabis testing facilities or cannabis stores. Please note that a municipality may submit only one application for reimbursement of qualifying expenses, so if a municipality opts in to only some types of adult use cannabis establishments and submits an application for reimbursement to OCP, the municipality would not be eligible for additional reimbursement of qualifying expenses associated with opting-in to allow additional establishment types at a later time.

OCP will accept any kind of accounting that is detailed enough for OCP to determine whether the expenses submitted are qualifying expenses as described above. Such an accounting should provide, at a minimum, the following information:

• The goods and/or services paid for (i.e. legal fees, newspaper advertising, overtime for staff to conduct municipal election);
• A note regarding the salience of the goods/services paid for to the opt-in process (i.e. drafting of municipal ordinance, advertising town meeting where warrant article will be voted upon, conduct of municipal election where ordinance amendment was approved); and
• The date of payment.

In order to receive money from the State of Maine your town must be enrolled in the State's vendor payment system. Once enrolled, each vendor is given unique Advantage Vendor Number.  This number is provided by the State's Procurement Services Office to any vendor working with state offices. If you need assistance in locating your vendor number you can contact the Division of Procurement Services' Vendor Self Service office directly at 207-624-7340 or our office at OCP@maine.gov.

There is no limit on the number of documents that can be uploaded, but each uploaded document must be less than 30 MB. The following file types can be uploaded through the application portal:

• .xls 
• .xlsx 
• .doc 
• .docx 
• .ppt 
• .pptx 
• .vsd 
• .odt 
• .odp 
• .ods 
• .odc 
• .odi 
• .pdf 
• .png 
• .jpg 
• .jpeg 
• .svg 
• .txt 

Applications are processed by our office on a first come, first served basis. The office may temporarily postpone application processing any time the unencumbered balance in the Adult Use Cannabis Public Health and Safety and Municipal Opt-in Fund (“the Fund”) falls below $250,000.

Application processing times can vary greatly based upon the volume and completeness of reimbursement applications received and the availability of unencumbered funds in the Fund. When the available balance of the Fund falls below $250,000 in a fiscal quarter, the office may temporarily postpone processing of reimbursement applications until the Fund is replenished in the next fiscal quarter.

If the office temporarily postpones application processing, it will begin processing applications again on a first come, first served basis when funds are once again available. In determining whether an application for reimbursement is received by OCP within 3 years of opting in, OCP will use the date the application for reimbursement was submitted to OCP, not the date it was processed by OCP.

Upon submission, you will receive an e-mail confirming that your application materials were submitted to OCP. OCP staff will then review your municipality’s application materials to ensure completeness.

OCP staff will review your municipality’s ordinance or warrant article to ensure that the municipality did, in fact, opt-in to permit the operation of adult use cannabis establishments within the municipality. Please ensure that the ordinance or warrant article submitted includes the effective date of the ordinance or warrant article.

OCP staff will review the accounting and any supporting documentation to determine whether all expenses reimbursed are qualifying expenses. We will reach out if it requires additional information to determine whether certain expenses are qualifying expenses.

OCP staff may determine certain expenses are not considered qualifying expenses and will provide the municipality with an opportunity to provide additional information to establish that the expenses are qualifying expenses.

If OCP determines that certain expenses submitted for reimbursement are not qualifying expenses, OCP will notify the municipality of the total amount of the expenses submitted that are considered qualifying expenses, as well as a list of those expenses not considered qualifying expenses.

Once OCP staff determines that your municipality is eligible for reimbursement for some or all the qualifying expenses submitted, you will receive an e-mail informing you that the municipality’s application has been approved for reimbursement.

Once approved, the municipality will receive reimbursement through the Advantage ID # submitted in the application materials.

A municipality may only apply for reimbursement of qualifying expenses once. The municipality may apply for reimbursement for any qualifying expenses (up to a total of $20,000 in qualifying expenses) within three years of passing or amending an ordinance or passing a warrant article. A municipality may apply for reimbursement of all qualifying expenses incurred through the process of developing or amending the ordinance or warrant article submitted as proof that the municipality opted in to permit adult use cannabis establishments within the municipality.

If a municipality has opted in to one license type (e.g. cultivation) more than three years ago, it may submit for reimbursement of qualifying expenses associated with a successful opt-in of a separate license type (e.g. retail).

A municipality may apply for reimbursement of qualifying expenses if the municipality completed the opt-in process within three years of applying for reimbursement. However, a municipality may not submit an application for reimbursement of qualifying expenses more than three years after the municipality adopts a warrant article or adopts or amends an ordinance authorizing the operation of some or all adult use cannabis establishments within that municipality.

No. OCP processes applications for reimbursement on a first come, first served basis. However, reimbursement of qualifying expenses may be delayed if the application is incomplete or OCP requires additional information from the applicant to determine eligibility.

Please contact Directory of Special Projects Tracy Jacques at Tracy.Jacques@maine.gov to determine how to submit any incomplete documentation.

The Adult Use Cannabis Public Health and Safety and Municipal Opt-in Fund is funded by excise and sales tax revenues generated by the transfer and sale of adult use cannabis in accordance with 28-B M.R.S. § 1101 and 36 M.R.S. §§ 1818 and 4925.

For individuals on probation, there are rules and restrictions for cannabis that must be followed. Contact a probation officer to find out more.

Maine requires the tracking and tracing of cannabis and cannabis products in our adult use program. 

It's illegal to leave Maine with any cannabis or cannabis products—medical or adult use. 

See: 21 U.S.C. § 812, CBP Statement on Canada's Legalization of Marijuana and Crossing the Border

Cannabis is the legal term used in Maine law to describe the product and establishments we regulate and license.