Now, there are three more bills up for a public hearing on February 10:
- An Act to Impose Further Restrictions on Where Marijuana May Be Smoked
- An Act to Improve Compliance with Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Office of Marijuana Policy Registration and Licensure Requirements
- An Act to Amend the Marijuana Legalization Act and Make Other Implementing Changes
The latter two are both children of the Office of Marijuana Policy. Those who were present at the hearing earlier this week will recall that OMP asked the committee to hold off on any significant changes to Maine’s adult use program. Perhaps consistent with this position, nothing proposed in either OMP bill is really big or structural. But…
Of note, the committee will be considering a new category of licensee: a "marijuana establishment support entity," which seems to be a way for OMP to regulate "sample collectors" who will be working with testing facilities and, perhaps, others who touch the product but don’t fit neatly into a current category of licensee.
Big picture: we can expect the State to continue tweaking our marijuana programs for years to come. I won’t be surprised by some key changes this session, with more and bigger changes to come down the road.