With Bated Breath, We Wait For Recreational Adult Use Cannabis Sales In Maine.
Maine legalized recreational use marijuana in 2016, but retail sales for adult-use products aren’t expected to begin until March 2020. Zero Gravity Cannabis has been gearing up for the last few months in preparation for recreational marijuana. Paperwork is ready, now we wait on the State and Municipalities.
The new changes to Maine’s Marijuana Legalization Act allows for acceptance of applications for retail marijuana sales by the end of 2019. Many of us have begun the paperwork process for the Dec. 5th date upon which the State will accept applications. It’s yet to be seen how long it will take them to process these applications, if history is any indicator, it will take some time.
We’re hoping there won’t be a bottleneck between marijuana cultivation and retail stores. There is existing infrastructure on both sides with operating medical marijuana cultivation facilities and medical cannabis storefronts. Many cultivation facilities will be applying for recreational cannabis production and a fair amount of the medical cannabis storefronts plan on submitting for adult use. Whether the two will match up to meet production and demand will be an interesting process to see unfold. As in many of Maine’s industries, seasonal sales is where cannabis will live thrive. The summer months are packed with tourists arriving via plane, train, automobile and cruise ship. Quite a few of these folks will enjoy toking up before their lobster dinner.
Another possible bottleneck will be the 3rd party testing of recreational cannabis products. Currently there are only two certified testing facilities in Maine. If recreational cannabis sales pick up, it may prove difficult to keep up with all of the product testing needs. Flower, tinctures, hash, vape carts, MANY various edibles, beverates etc… will need to be tested, thousands of individual tests weekly can be expected.
Another question is the actual demand for recreational cannabis. Maine has been the crown of New England for cannabis production for decades. Marijuana is nothing new to Mainers, many grow their own or procure from their friends who grow. For a lot of us, buying weed in a store isn’t necessary. That said, there are millions of tourists flooding the State every year. Couple that with the fact we have been talking about “legalization” in Maine for so long now, the anticipation may be at a fever pitch. If Massachusetts is any indicator of what the demand will be, then hold on to your doobies. If Maine can get 25% of the sales per capita Mass is seeing (albeit there are not many stores open yet), we should see impressive sales numbers.
In case you were wondering, here are the general marijuana laws:
- Adults over 21 years of age can possess up to 2.5 ounces (70 grams) of marijuana.
- Adults can also lawfully possess and cultivate up to three mature marijuana plants, 12 immature plants, and unlimited seedlings.
- Consuming cannabis in public or on federal land is not allowed and illegal in Maine.
- Recreational marijuana is allowed to be consumed on private property.
Whatever happens, we at Zero Gravity Cannabis are ready for the rec market. Our facility has been under construction/expansion for more flower, edible and extract production. All profits have been re-invested back into our infrastructure. We’ve been operating a very successful medical marijuana deliver service complete with dispatching and GPS software. The first round of paperwork has been filed, lawyers are hired, strategic partnerships are underway and the flavor hunting continues! Our loyal cannabis patients can expect to continue receiving some of the best craft cannabis and extracts Maine has to offer.
