Maine Licenses Its First Dispensaries, New Mexico Approves Six More
Maine took an important step toward enhancing patient access to medical marijuana on Friday, when officials awarded the state’s first operating licenses to six nonprofit dispensaries that will open across the state. Regulated dispensaries were added to Maine’s law in November, after nearly 60% of state voters approved an MPP-drafted initiative that made Maine the third medical marijuana state to allow dispensary licenses, and the first to do so through the ballot.
In related news, New Mexico, which was the first state to license dispensaries, just approved six more medical marijuana producers—bringing the state’s total number of licensed, nonprofit dispensaries to 11.
These establishments—when properly regulated—provide patients in need with safe, reliable and orderly access to their medicine, saving them the effort of growing their own while also sparing them from having to resort to the often dangerous and unpredictable black market.
Elsewhere, Rhode Island has been holding hearings on applicants for dispensary licenses there, while New Jersey and Washington, D.C. are considering similar plans. In Oregon, it seems increasingly likely that state voters will consider adding dispensaries to that state’s law this November.
Tagged with: D.C. and dispensaries and Maine and New Jersey and New Mexico and Oregon and Rhode Island and Washington by the author
21 comments
So how long do you think it will take Obama and his administration to put a MILLION dollar lawsuit on the states that have legalized medical marijuana and will LEGALIZE recreational use? If Eric Holder says federal government trumps states laws on immagration, how long will they hold off before they put lawsuits against states for their marijuana laws? I would be willing to bet my ass that when California voters approve recreational legalization, Obama will show his true side of this fight….he will cost the American people with millions to fight the same ol fight….
What happens after Prop. 19 loses in California in November? The numbers show that it’s already polling under 50% and ballot initiatives only become less popular as Election Day approaches….
So far the federal law enforcement are using the state legal nonprofit dispensaries as a convenient set up to bust druggies selling narcotics.
Does anyone have any suggestions for people moving to Maine? Best economical areas, jobs, assistance, etc., just the basics for those of us considering the move to Maine. Oh and leave out the part about the cold weather, I’ve lived in Colorado and nothing is colder than 50 below that I experienced with never ending wind.
Does anybody have an address that we can write to, to say “Thanks!” to the courageous officials in Maine?
Why should you credit Maine’s officials for the dipensaies. The voter authorized them with a ballot initiative.
How will the dispensaries acquire medicine to dispense? Will patients be allowed to offer any excess to them?
There’s way too many unanswered, “WHAT IF,” questions. I suppose there’s going to be many busted dispensary operations in the future or will dispensary operators be really smart and run a distribution program that’s immune to police raids. All it takes is one complaint and here comes the death squads!
I think Prop 19 will likely follow a different model than most other legislation… but I’m a perennial optimist about some things
as long as we keep pushing forward and gaining support in numbers and not necessarily within the political spectrum then we will see these things happen in more states. Just remember if you really want these things and we go down the avenues that are laid out for us to get these laws reformed but the federal government impedes us from the practice of using marijuana then we should revolt against them just as the constitution says.
GOOD LUCK!! Obama increased the drug war funding by 5% over last year. The lying fuck really does not give a shit about us, never did. The fuck lied to 30 million pot smokers to get elected. We will never be free and we are loosing our freedom every day. Now even the Dept of justice will only prosecute white people. There has to be a way to impeach Obama, and soon. he has done nothing except lead us into socialism. Russia is not where I want to live. Why can’t there be a law that states, America is and shall forever be free. That is what the declaration if independence was supposed to do. IMPEACH OBAMA, is our only hope.
dont worry Clarence, it will happen. Like I said, Nixon was impeached because he stood up for his cabinet members and got impeached. Nixon himself, though he did start the drug war, was actually not that bad. But Obama str8 up did the badness himself. When will people start to realize that we are running out of options.
Obama won’t fight this, he’s too distracted.
We’re broke and dealing with financial calamity, AZ forced immigration on him, major cuts or major tax increases are required, etc etc
We don’t need him to support us. We need him to take his foot off the brake, which I’m still hopeful / confident he will.
Finally! New Mexico needs more providers, they’ve had a medical marijuana drought for quite a while! And hearing about such an explosion in Maine is also exciting. Medical Cannabis is slowly spreading across the nation and it’s exciting to see!
As for Obama fighting this, I agree with Mark, I am confident / and hopefull that he will take his foot off the breaks.
Nickolette Lannan
CannabisCare
Marijuana Prohibition has to end. It is the only substance that is still prohibited AFTER the end to alcohol prohibition.
PROHIBITION is UNCONSTITUTIONAL. MJ remained illegal to satisfy the religious people, whose Jesus turns water into wine and gets crunk but somehow refrained from smoking, I think he did, how else could he cope with being told he was the son of the G-man? That’s probably why we “see” him as a baby and then as a grown ass man. Just a thought. No, I am not hi.
I live in AZ, medical MJ will be on the ballot in November. I will Vote for it. I honestly DO NOT think it will pass, this is, after all, the state that refused to recognize MLK as a holiday until it threatened their wallets. The products here are all black market, mostly brown, horrible quality, and who knows what you are getting.
Those of us who need it for medical reasons and have made the mistake of moving here (financial reasons/low cost of living) are relegated to a black market situation where you are NEVER sure what will be on the table or in your bag.
JJ, are you really that ignorant? Obama will not be suing states over their medical marijuana laws. In fact, the drug czar MPP is calling for to resign is the one going rogue! Obama told the DEA not to target these people and institutions that are abiding by state marijuana laws. Get a clue.
In response to several of the posts above:
I moved to Maine in December of last year, from Chicago, so I speak from experience. If you plan to move to Maine, the best region to move to would be determined by what you want. In general, Maine is an expensive state to live in. If you want art, shopping, and a general political liberalism, then you want to move to Cumberland County (Portland), or somewhere else in Southern Maine. This area provides the best opportunity for jobs (in my opinion), however housing is expensive and so are taxes. There are some reasonably priced homes in some parts of the state, but most of those are rural and offer few, if any jobs or shopping. If you are on a fixed income (disability/retirement/etc) and looking for a rural area, are not concerned about access to brick & mortar shopping (thank God for the Internet), enjoy the cold (can you say Skiing/Snowmobiling!!!) – then Northern Maine (Aroostook or Penobscot County) is the place for you. Penobscot county is where Bangor is located, the second largest city in Maine. Aroostook County is the most northern county and is about the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. It’s home to Caribou, Ft. Kent, Presque Isle – all are smaller communities. Property is inexpensive in most areas and so are taxes.
One must keep in mind Maine has a lot of taxes and/or fees: such as a state income tax, annual excise taxes on every motor vehicle (atv, snowmobile, car, boat, etc), all motor vehicle inspections and registration, sales tax on most items except food. Depending on the area it has fairly low property taxes. In addition, there is the 5 cent deposit on almost every plastic/aluminum can food/beverage container item you purchase, except milk. However, the state has “minimum prices” on milk, so expect to pay more. Maine is far from any temperate zone, so expect to pay more for all produce not grown locally (which is mostly potatoes, assorted berries, apples and some corn – mostly for the deer though). Hunting is great, so that does supplement the food budget, if you are a hunter. Also, fuel is more expensive in Maine. Unless you have a wood heater (pellet or cord) you are most likely going to be using fuel oil for heating. On average, I spend about $1,600 each winter on oil alone. Not including the additional electrical costs to move the air around making the winters quite expensive. If you plan to move to Maine, I suggest using wood for heating, or some other alternative means. Speaking of electricity, Northern Maine is different from other areas of the state in that the electrical grid is not connected to the rest of Maine. The grid is connected to New Brunswick, Canada, meaning that electricity is expensive. If you can manage those extra costs, then Northern Maine is the place for you. There are no jobs, so bring an income.
Another person asked if patients will be able to return unused portions. The answer is yes, at least for the dispensary in my area. The dispensaries will allow patients to return unused medication which, at that point, can only be used for composting material, for safety reasons.
I will try to check back again to answer any other questions if I can. The blog posting gives links to incredibly informative articles regarding the law and its enactment, as well as the organizations selected to operate the dispensaries. Click them to learn more about those things.
Oh, one other answer: the dispensaries will grow the cannabis organically, using an indoor grow facility. They will provide bud in different sizes, depending on the Dr. recommendation, from grams to ounces – up to 2 1/2 oz every 2 weeks. They will also have tinctures, food products, salves, paraphernalia, and offer other services such as acupuncture and massage therapy.
If it was only possible that the american people could get a great well known organizer to organize all the people that smoked marijuana to pick 1 day or 1 week long stretch to just light up and smoke not just at the capitals of all states but every nook and crany town there is. they would not be able to arrest and keep every one in jail,and they would possibly leave the medical people alone.If not it would make a great statement on NBC or ALL of the news shows. So lets organize when its plentiful like right after harvest time.
In response to Clarence’s post from July 13th:
Right on brother.
Watch a movie called, “The Obama Deception”
This is petty and trivial compared to the billions 2 wars in Iraq and 1 in Afghanistan is costing tax payers…. I mean 2 wars in IRAQ???? WTF???? Still in AFGANISTAN? WHOLLY WHORES>>> we should be protesting at the capitol ,, legalizing cannabis is pretty trivial compared to these, dont get me wrong, I am a cannabis activist too, but there are some bigger issues….. oil spills….. but IF HEMP were legal and used, we may not have these disasterous spills and wars….
I’ve been a medical marijuana card holder for 8 years now & had frequent use in my past ,also grew out of the site of the law for years & never got caught.My apartment mangment corp. just okayed me to grow . Which I think is great , but I remeber what Obama said on the campian trail regarding the medical use of marijuana & I thought I heard say something like he would push for legalizing it or something like that ; did I hear wrong ?JK
Leave a Comment