State looks for volunteers to fill newly created Medical Marijuana Workgroup
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The Maine Office of Marijuana Policy is assembling a workgroup of external stakeholders to explore ways to improve the medical cannabis industry and streamline regulatory processes.
The Maine Office of Marijuana Policy is looking for industry members and others to join a workgroup to help the state’s growing medical cannabis market keep growing.
The new Medical Marijuana Workgroup will consist of at least 16 volunteers representing medical marijuana businesses, cannabis patients, the state health care system and local municipalities, according to a news release Friday. The ad hoc group will advise the OMP directly on regulatory issues, best practices in patient access and education, and ways of improving or updating the medical cannabis program.
To be chaired by OMP officials, the workgroup will meet virtually at least four times between Sept. 28 and Nov. 30. The office said it expects outcomes of the meetings to include legislative changes, rulemaking or recommendations to streamline the office’s licensing and compliance processes.
The workgroup will include a minimum of the following:
- Five registered caregivers
- Two registered dispensary representatives
- One marijuana testing facility representative
- One product manufacturing facility representative
- Three patients who are not also registered caregivers
- Two individuals representing municipalities in Maine
- Two health care professionals.
Maine’s medical cannabis industry has grown dramatically over the past decade, with the current number of caregivers more than five times the 575 who were registered in 2012. But more recently, the number has fluctuated, while the size of Maine’s recreational-use market has skyrocketed.
Maine legalized marijuana for medical use in 1999 and for recreational use in 2016. Gov. Janet Mills created the Office of Marijuana Policy in 2019 to oversee both regulated industries.
“We look forward to the opportunity presented by convening a group of well-qualified individuals in pursuit of a shared goal to both preserve patient access and support the regulated marketplace,” OMP Director Erik Gundersen said in the release.
“Our vision as a cannabis regulator has always been to develop a good faith partnership with our stakeholders by establishing rules and policies that provide interested consumers with access to a regulated industry.”
The OMP is accepting applications for the workgroup through Sept. 3.
Information and application forms are available on the OMP website at maine.gov/dafs/omp/workgroup.
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