Cannabis Cured in Bangor has one entrance if youāre a patient in Maineās medical marijuana program, and another if youāre simply a recreational customer.
Youāll find essentially the same products whether youāre on the storeās medical or recreational side. But youāll find different employees and different prices on each side. The two sides are separated by a wall that was required to completely divide the businesses.
āThere isnāt really a huge difference between our products,ā said Brooke McLaughlin, Cannabis Curedās Bangor regional manager.
But thereās a significant difference in the rules that apply on either side of the wall.
On the recreational side, employees have to be fingerprinted and pass background checks under state regulations, and a certain number of employees must be in the store at any given time, McLaughlin said.Ā All of the recreational products have to be tracked in a state data system and testedĀ for contaminants to ensure that customers are buying untainted marijuana.
Caption: Left to right, An employee helps a patient cash out at Cannabis Curedās medicinal storefront in Bangor, April 22, 2022. The inside of Cannabis Curedās recreational marijuana storefront, April 22, 2022. Credit: Sawyer Loftus | BDN
On the medical side, none of those requirements apply.
The store reflects a reality of Maineās legal marijuana program. While the medical and recreational marijuana markets offer up products from the same plant, the medical market is subject to significantly less regulation and scrutinyĀ than its newer recreational counterpart. Thereās no required testing of medical products.
The lack of regulation on the medical side makes it more vulnerable to criminal activity, said Erik Gundersen, director of Maineās Office of Marijuana Policy.
The disparity in regulation came to light last year after a licensed Maine medical marijuana caregiver, Lucas Sirois, was accused of illegally selling $13 million in marijuanaĀ that was ostensibly part of the stateās medical program to non-medical patients across state lines and in Maine. More than a dozen people were charged as part of Siroisā operation, including current and former law enforcement officers, a former selectman and a former prosecutor.
āThereās just a severe void of any transparency or accountability within the medical program, and to assume that thereās not a lot of illicit activity happening is just kind of misguided,ā Gundersen said. āBut weāve continued to advocate for regulations that make sense for all stakeholder groups.ā
The marijuana policy office, which was created in 2019, the year before the state started allowing recreational marijuana retailers to open, has sought to add more regulation to Maineās much older medical marijuana program. But those changes have proven difficult to make, Gundersen said.
Advocates for the medical marijuanaĀ program have resisted more stringent regulation, and theyāve often found allies in the state Legislature. Lawmakers last year rejectedĀ regulations from the Office of Marijuana Policy that would have implemented a āseed-to-saleā tracking system for medical marijuana thatās in place for recreational pot.
āIt certainly behooves us as the agency to continue to ring that bell and call attention to it, saying, āHey, there are some deficiencies within this program that we think we can improve upon,āā Gundersen said.
Gundersen said there is undoubtedly more criminal activity happening, and more stringent regulations could help. Additionally, more regulation could help ensure the safety and quality of medical marijuana products, he said.
Advocates for medical marijuana program participants in Maine, however, fear that more regulation would increase costs, making medical products less accessible, said Paul McCarrier, a member of the Maine Craft Cannabis Association, an industry group, and a member of the Medical Marijuana Workgroup that works with the Office of Marijuana Policy on regulations.Ā
āWhen we donāt have any data that is saying that there needs to be this heavier level of regulation, that not only is going to increase costs for the businesses, it is going to increase costs for the patients,ā McCarrier said.
Cases like Siroisā are rare and often detract from the medical marijuana programās successes, he said. Ā
āThat, obviously, is what is going to get a lot of attention,ā McCarrier said. āWhatās being ignored, is the fact that we have a program thatās been operating for 12 years with really minimal problems.ā
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