The coronavirus pandemic has put a damper on many things in recent weeks and this includes the spring launch of adult-use marijuana in the state of Maine.
Maine has had to delay the launch due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a new launch window won’t be identified until proper guidance from health experts.
The Office of Marijuana Policy (OMP) is postponing the spring debut of adult-use marijuana retail sales in Maine.
In a letter to stakeholders, OMP Director Erik Gundersen wrote, “Just one month ago, as we announced the issuance of Maine’s first conditional licenses for adult use marijuana establishments, few would have envisioned the effects the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) would have on the daily lives of Mainers.
However, it now appears as though a spring launch of Maine’s adult-use industry is simply unrealistic.”
“Several communities preparing for local authorization and to opt-in for adult use—most notably those that serve as hosts to our prospective marijuana testing facilities—have now had to postpone those actions because of COVID-19, and rightfully so,” said Gundersen. “The other issue in this unfortunate situation are the sheer unknowns. Public health experts have clearly communicated that they cannot answer what social distancing or other guidance may be in effect as we approach late spring and early summer.”
According to Gunderson, the new timeline for the retail sale of adult-use marijuana is unclear. The OMP will be working with public health experts to determine a new launch window.
OMP says it is still “accepting adult and medical use applications, issuing medical marijuana registrations and adult-use conditional licenses and developing new rules and regulations required by recent changes in state law” and that it will “continue to engage with its fellow state agencies, municipalities, industry members, state and local health experts, and the public as it moves forward with launching adult-use marijuana in Maine.”
