l, here we are again, somehow, I’m still standing (with 2 disabled accounts LOL). Like a damn cat with nine lives, Maine Medical keeps dodging death blows.

Out of the 36 cannabis related bills that hit this session, two of them could’ve gutted the soul of the medical program.

And if they’d passed? We’d be watching 1,600 caregivers get squeezed out, and with them, hundreds of thousands of patients losing access to some of the cleanest, freshest, most affordable cannabis in the entire country. 

Let’s name names: 

LD 104 — An Act to Protect the Health of Medical Cannabis Patients and Streamline Mandatory Testing.

LD 1847 — An Act to Institute Testing and Tracking of Medical Use Cannabis (basically mirroring Adult Use), reallocate tax revenue, and form a study group. 

Both were Democrat-sponsored. Both were serious threats. And both faced a wall of resistance. 

On May 5th, the Maine cannabis community showed up hard. 

Over 500 written testimonies in opposition. 

Four rooms packed wall-to-wall at the State House, one main hearing room and three overflow rooms filled with caregivers, patients, first-timers, old-timers, and folks who’ve been fighting this battle longer than I’ve had facial hair. 

That’s the beauty of it. This community is real. And it’s not about flashy brands or boardrooms — it’s about people who love this plant. 

And you know what? We won the round. 

🔻 LD 104? 

Voted “Ought Not to Pass.” Straight up dead. One for the win column. 

🟡 LD 1847?

Carried over to the next session. But, and this is important, during the work session, it became very clear that this bill is getting chopped up, reworked, and will most likely come back as a “vehicle bill.”

Translation? They’re gonna gut it, stitch it back together, and use it as a Trojan horse for something else down the line. 

So no, the war’s not over, but we won this battle. Loud and clear. 

A big reason? Lawmakers actually listened. A majority didn’t feel comfortable forcing mandatory testing on the medical program without more data. They heard us. 

And METRC? Oh, they were squirming. So many people called out the red flags that METRC itself submitted testimony just to “clear up misinformation.” PR panic mode, full swing. 

I know the feeling — I filed a Freedom of Access Act request after getting ignored for six months.

With the help of Steve Robinson over at the Maine Wire (yeah, the same guy who’s been shining light on the illegal Chinese grow ops), I finally got my hands on 123 pages of internal emails between METRC and the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy. 

Tucked inside? A 2023 email from METRC panicking about their “PR” in Maine. Tells you all you need to know. It’s not about safety — it’s about image, profit, and control. 

Meanwhile, Maine Medical’s been ducking METRC and mandatory testing like it’s a game of Frogger — seven years strong. And every time they try to clamp down, we show up louder, smarter, and more unified. 

So yeah, I might be on life number eight… but we’re still here. 

Maine caregivers aren’t just surviving, we’re fighting back. 

And as long as I’ve got breath in my lungs and weed in the jar, I’ll be right here.

Derek Shirley was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the age of 19, he received a felony for 4 ounces of cannabis. After, he became a “cannabis nomad”  living in Ohio, Arizona, and Maine, which he now calls home, and lives with his wife Sequoia and son Haze.

Being a cannabis nomad had its advantages, like relying on all markets for his medical cannabis needs which gives him a unique perspective of the cannabis markets. Currently, he is an influential pro-cannabis activist in the state of Maine who helps local people and small businesses navigate their local and state governments without picking a political party specializing in protecting and preserving the small medical cannabis farmers of Maine. For fun, Derek enjoys screen printing and making cannabis memes under the pseudonym @gettinghighwithcats on IG