The state’s nearly three-year-old adult-use cannabis market is booming, but business owners told state regulators Wednesday that they have concerns about new proposed rules.
They said testing labs aren’t well regulated, that proposed marketing rules are too strict and that the state doesn’t do enough to end the stigma around cannabis.
Some also mentioned concerns about reports that there are 270 illegal marijuana grow sites in the state linked to China, which was first reported by the Bangor Daily News last month.
When it comes to testing, Sean Bastin of Old Orchard Provisions said the state should create its own system.
“The testing system in this state is flawed,” he said during a hearing before the Office of Cannabis Policy. “In my opinion, I believe all the testing labs should be state run with state employees.”
After the meeting, Catherine Lewis shared her concerns inside her adult-use cannabis store, Homegrown of Hallowell.
“It’s not that we’re against the testing, we want testing,” she said. “What we have a problem with is there aren’t standards across the board.”
In addition to concerns about inaccurate testing, she said proposed new regulations meant to make cannabis products — particularly gummies — less appealing to children are vague and potentially burdensome.
The hearing sought feedback on proposed rule changes, many of them routine, but it also opened the door for business owners to talk about what they are facing in the competitive adult-use cannabis market.
Overall, the industry, which launched almost three years ago with storefront sales, has taken off. July set an all-time record for sales, at nearly $21 million, and August is likely to break that record, said office director John Hudak.
“Sales are booming,” he said, but added the caveat that “it’s important to remember just because sales numbers are up doesn’t mean every business is doing well.”
His office is working to implement rule changes mandated by the Legislature, including finding ways to ensure that children don’t get their hands on cannabis. But they are also working to balance those needs with concerns expressed by the industry, he said.
“The balance between business and public health and public safety is often one where some people feel slighted, some people feel unhappy, sometimes both sides feel unhappy,” Hudak said.
He said the rules are still in draft form and that additional comments can be submitted until Sept. 17.
With regard to gummies, the state is trying to craft rules to better regulate serving size and proposing to prohibit sugar coatings that cover up markings that indicate the presence of THC, the substance that produces the feeling of being high.
When it comes to marketing, the state is proposing to crack down on bright colors and other things that might appeal to children. But Lewis said it virtually eliminates all marketing.
“You can’t have themes in your marketing,” she said. “What does that even mean? The whole point of marketing is to get people used to your product and your brand and now this brand is not OK.”
She and others at the hearing said they fear Prohibition-style rules that they think are designed to make people feel badly about buying cannabis.
“It’s very much still the era and feel of Prohibition,” she said. “We’re perpetuating the stigma of cannabis.”