After voters approved adult-use cannabis legalization in 2016, Maine lawmakers haven’t let outgoing Gov. Paul LePage’s veto power stand in the way of the will of the People. Back in May, state legislators overrode LePage’s veto of a bill legalizing adult-use retail sales. And in July, they overrode the governor’s veto of a medical marijuana program expansion. With many of the restrictions placed on caregivers and dispensaries lifted by the new bill, Maine’s medical cannabis industry has more freedom to operate—and innovate. And one Portland, Maine caregiver is already taking advantage of the new rules, using an old walk-in cooler to convert a convenience store into the state’s first combination gas station and medical cannabis dispensary.
Maine MMJ Patients Can Now Gas Up and Grass Up at Atlantic Farms Gas N’ Grass
At 10 a.m. on Thursday, the old Getty Mart on Warren Avenue in Portland was no longer just a gas station and convenience store. Under Maine’s new medical marijuana law, which introduced major changes to the state’s 19-year-old medical cannabis program, it had become the Atlantic Farms Gas N’ Grass, a one-stop gas station, convenience store and medical cannabis dispensary. Under the program’s new regulations, caregivers can open up more medical dispensaries and hire more employees to staff them. But cities and towns also have the authority to restrict industry operations. Dispensary owners must obtain municipal approval before they can legally operate, for example.
Additionally, Maine caps its medical dispensary licenses. Before the expansion went into effect, the program granted just eight such licenses. The new rules will grant six additional licenses. Beyond state licensing, dispensary businesses must also obtain local permits. Jackson McLeod, a caregiver and member of the four-person partnership that created Gas N’ Grass, managed to snag