'Cannabis hospitality' will be the focus of a Maine task force
Photo / Courtesy, Highbrow
“We’re looking at how to safely and properly enter this space to benefit cannabis entrepreneurs and business here in Maine,” said Richelle Brossi, a task force member and owner of cannabis company Highbrow.
The Maine Office of Cannabis Policy has formed a task force that’s looking to define the new field of “cannabis hospitality," review how other states regulate it, and draft policy recommendations for regulating cannabis hospitality establishments in Maine.
“We look forward to engaging in the necessary research and dialogue with the selected task force members to inform a thoughtful approach to cannabis hospitality policy in Maine,” said John Hudak, director of the Office of Cannabis Policy.
Just what is cannabis hospitality? That’s one of the questions the task force is examining, Hudak told Mainebiz.
For many people, it means cannabis consumption lounges. But there are other ideas out there.
“People think about cannabis hospitality in very different ways,” he said.
The task force was convened to include myriad perspectives to consider policy and regulation issues at both the state and local levels, he said.
“I see my role as moderating the task force but also as someone who’s listening,” Hudak said.
Task force recommendation will go to the Maine Legislature for consideration.
Range of perspectives
“We’re looking at how to safely and properly enter this space to benefit cannabis entrepreneurs and businesses here in Maine,” said Richelle Brossi, a task force member and owner of Highbrow, a vertically integrated company providing cannabis for medical and recreational use.
Established in 2017, Highbrow has six locations and over 60 employees. Its flagship store, manufacturing facility and commercial kitchen are in Topsham.
In Maine, hospitality in general includes not only restaurants and hotels but things like kayaking tours, wine and dinner packages, mountain climbing and camping, Brossi noted. Questions for the task force, she said, include how cannabis fits into the hospitality space within appropriate parameters, licensing and regulations.
For example, she said, brew tours offer tastings at each stop. A cannabis tour might offer something similar.
“We want to expand our horizons,” Brossi said.
Natasha Johnson of Meristem, a cannabis retailer in Southwest Harbor, said the task force’s first meeting identified a fair range of perspectives on the topic.
“There’s a lot of variability and not a clear-cut definition,” Johnson said. “It’s something we’re all working together to define.”
The 15-member group held its first meeting last week. Members represent a range of stakeholder groups with diverse backgrounds, geography and experience. They include:
- Cannabis policy: Sam Tracy
- Cannabis culinary arts: David Ferragamo, Euphoric Food; Pablo Barajas, Litty Bittys
- Adult-use consumers: Rose Mahoney; Steve Rusnack, Full Bloom Cannabis
- Municipal government: Chris Beaumont, City of Portland; Jon Rioux, Town of Windham
- Adult-use licensees: Natasha Johnson, Meristem; Richelle Brossi, Highbrow
- Hospitality industry: Julie Cutting-Kelley, Emerald Elevation/Cure Restaurant; Nate Cloutier, HospitalityMaine
- Public health: Anne Sedlack, Maine Medical Association; Jamie Comstock, Bangor Public Health; Jennifer Kelley-Young, City of Portland – Division of Public Health
- Supporter of the 2016 cannabis legalization ballot measure: Heather Sullivan, Curaleaf
The task force has at least four hybrid meetings. The first was held last week. Additional meetings are scheduled in July and August.
Gov. Janet Mills and her administration created the Office of Cannabis Policy within the Department of Administration and Financial Services in February 2019. The office is responsible for the oversight of all aspects of legalized cannabis in Maine.
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