In her State of the Budget address on January 28th, Governor Mills called Maine’s Medical Cannabis Program “the wild, wild west.” Cannabis was decriminalized in Maine in 1976, and medical cannabis was legalized in 1999.
We have one of the oldest medical programs in the country and one of few, if not the only, where patients can purchase their medicine directly from the person growing it. It is a program I am proud to be a part of and I am disheartened by misinformation coming from the Governor, DAFS and the Office of Cannabis Policy which characterizes it as unsafe and underregulated.
There has been consistent messaging that our program does not have tracking and that our products are untested and therefore unsafe, frequently referencing an OCP report on off-the-shelf testing of a very small selection of medical cannabis (120 of 1823 registrants in 2023, or 6.5%) This misinformation erodes public confidence in the medical cannabis industry and I would like to provide some clarity.
Regarding Tracking:
A registrant in the medical cannabis program is required to track every time that cannabis is transferred into or out of their custody. This must be done with a “Trip Ticket” which records the date, time and location of the transfer, the registration number of both parties involved, and description of the material transferred.
Additionally, we are required to maintain a transaction log with this same information and include the photo ID number of the person we transfer material to/from. Based on my experience in the National Organic Program, the only additional information required to do a full seed-to-sale trace back would be planting and harvest records (which many cultivators already maintain) and a record of current product inventory. It is not true that there is no tracking in the medical program.
Regarding Testing:
The OCP report, Harmful Contaminants in Maine’s Medical Cannabis Program, asserts that “50 samples, or 42%, contained at least one contaminant that would have failed testing according to the mandatory testing standards set for Maine’s Adult Use Cannabis Program”. However, 60% of these failures (30/50) were for total yeast and mold, tests which the manufacturer states “are unable to differentiate between pathogenic, beneficial, and benign yeast and molds, making them poor safety indicators. A low TYM result does not mean a cannabis sample is free of pathogens.
A high TYM result doesn’t mean a sample is harmful to consumers. This is especially true in cannabis, which has a diverse microbiome of beneficial microbes that are not harmful to humans.” Cannabis recalls in adult use in Maine have been due to failures for total yeast and mold, with no evidence of the presence of harmful or dangerous pathogens.
This testing is inconsistent with the Adult Use Statue which authorizes testing for “Dangerous yeasts, molds and mildew” not testing for TOTAL yeast and mold. These recalls create fear and distrust of products from our state’s regulated market and have not demonstrated an ability to impact public health outcomes.
The legislature has repeatedly rejected bills and proposed rules that would mandate testing and seed-to-sale software based tracking in the medical program due to the significant impact it would have on cost to patients and the small business which make up a large portion of the medical program. Industry members have asserted that they do not want to consider mandatory testing in Medical until it is first fixed and made effective in Adult Use.
Aside from the inappropriate application of total count microbial tests, there are concerns about tests being self-sampled, labs being privately run, and inconsistencies in lab results from different labs and samples from the same batch.
Another testing issue that will be discussed in this upcoming legislative session is the remediation and irradiation of cannabis products, treatments that enable products to pass microbial testing, which has become popular in the adult-use industry as a tool to get products to market.
With many bills addressing these issues in the 132nd Legislature, I am hoping lawmakers, stakeholders and the department can collaborate on issues of testing and tracking with conversations based on scientific evidence and pragmatic efforts to honestly assess potential public health risks, rather than creating and promoting an illusion of safety.
This is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect the views of Beard Bros Pharms.
About the Author
Elizabeth Hayes is a passionate gardener and co-creator of Art and Craft (@artandcraft_can), a Maine-based business rooted in the state’s medical cannabis caregiver program. Through Art and Craft, Elizabeth is dedicated to providing high-quality cannabis products directly to patients and wholesale to caregivers and caregiver stores. Her work reflects a deep love for the craft and a commitment to supporting Maine’s vibrant caregiver community. Connect with Elizabeth for patient or wholesale inquiries and explore her journey through @future_garden_seeds.
