AUGUSTA — The state’s largest public health association is chalking up some wins following the legislative session, but one major issued won’t be resolved until at least next year.
The Maine Public Health Association, which represents 850 members and 70 organizations, will continue work over the summer on a bill seeking to require medical cannabis to be tested, said Matthew Wellington, associate director.
Current state law requires recreational cannabis to be tested for pesticides, mold and metals but medical cannabis is not subject to the same requirements.
Wellington and others — including the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention — believe testing is needed to ensure high quality products are available for medical patients.
With the Legislature likely out of session until January, Wellington is hopeful they can use the time to negotiate with medical cannabis growers on a compromise.
“I actually think there’s potentially some common ground there between public health folks and people in the medical cannabis industry,” Wellington said.
Kristi Shaw, vice-chairwoman of the Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine, said Monday they don’t oppose testing but want to make sure it’s tailored to their industry.
She said proposals to require medical cannabis growers to use the same testing protocols as the recreational cannabis industry will hurt small farms.
“We’re not against testing,” Shaw said. “They are trying to pull us into the adult use framework that would kill a lot of small businesses.”
She said more research is needed to figure out what kinds of tests are necessary for the medical market.
It’s possible those answers could be found in other states. Wellington said Maine’s medical cannabis program is the only one in the U.S. that does not require testing. Forty states have medical cannabis programs, but Maine remains an outlier when it comes to testing.
“It’s about time we fix that,” Wellington said.
When it comes to legislative successes, the public health association characterizes the $1.50 per pack increase in the cigarette tax as a significant win, saying the increased taxes will “reduce youth tobacco use and encourage current smokers to quit.”
The new taxes — which will apply to other tobacco products as well — take effect in January.
“We’re talking about the leading cause of preventable death and disease in Maine and the United States, that’s tobacco use,” Wellington said. “Addressing that issue will have huge ripple effects in a positive way for our communities.”
Those anticipated benefits include a lower incidence of cancer and fewer teens becoming smokers, he said.
The group also supported LD 1, a bipartisan measure that directs $39 million to help Mainers prepare for severe storms. Of the $39 million, $15 million is to help homeowners strengthen roofs and floodproof basements against weather damage.
Ten million is for the Maine Emergency Management Agency, which will use the funds to match federal recovery monies, create a fund for infrastructure projects and update emergency communications technology, according to the governor’s office.
The final $9 million is for floodplain mapping and management.
Wellington said the new law, which Gov. Janet Mills signed in April, passed with significant bipartisan support and will help address needs in communities all over the state.
“I think we saw with the incredibly harmful storms we had here in Maine a couple of years ago that we might not be ready for the new reality that we’re living in,” Wellington said. “Extreme weather is more and more common and more and more severe.”
0 Comments