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PORTLAND, Maine – The launch of legal marijuana sales in Maine has been muted compared to other states because of the coronavirus pandemic, but stores are reporting dynamic deals nonetheless.
Maine was unable to reproduce the wide-open scenes that followed the first sales in other states. But regulators reported more than $ 1 million in sales in October, more than $ 1.2 million in November and almost $ 2 million in December. The number of retail companies also continues to grow.
“Despite all the market challenges, from COVID to supply chains and more, Maine has done a great job of getting this market up and running,” said Thomas Winstanley, vice president of marketing at Theory Wellness, which has offices in South Portland Waterville. “Cannabis is becoming part of the social fabric.”
The deployment of legal marijuana sales in Maine has been silenced compared to other states because of the coronavirus pandemic, but stores are reporting dynamic business nonetheless. (AP Photo / Robert F. Bukaty)
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Nearly a third of U.S. states have approved the legal use of marijuana by adults. This includes several states with longest established marijuana programs and four that have just become legal in the 2020 elections and are developing programs.
But only Maine became legal in 2016 and then it took nearly four years to create a legal framework for retail sales. These sales began in October, at a time when the pandemic was getting worse in the state and across the country.
Cannabis sales in Maine are much lower than in Massachusetts, which also became legal in 2016 and was quicker to establish its marijuana program. Authorities in Massachusetts have reported more than $ 1 billion in sales since the fall of 2018.
Maine now houses 15 cannabis stores, 16 growing facilities and nine active licensed product factories. The state approved the first six active licenses in September. Dozens of other licenses are in various places throughout the pipeline.
Regulators reported more than $ 1 million in sales in October, more than $ 1.2 million in November and almost $ 2 million in December. (AP Photo / Robert F. Bukaty)
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Maine’s program has been adapted to meet the needs of a smaller state. The state is wise to take a cautious approach to industry growth, especially during a pandemic, said Scott Gagnon, a member of the Maine Marijuana Advisory Commission.
Consumers have had to exercise the same kind of social detachment and facial coverage requirements as everyone else in Maine, which is subject to a state mask directive by Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat.
“In other states, on the first day of sales, there are people lined up along the block and it’s a very, very big thing,” said Gagnon. “I think that, at least compared to other states before us, it was less important.”
Maine’s long-established medical marijuana program, which dates back to the late 1990s, is also still operating during the pandemic. The medical program remains much larger, accounting for more than $ 200 million in sales last year.
Maine now houses 15 marijuana stores, 16 growing facilities and nine active licensed product manufacturing facilities. (AP Photo / Robert F. Bukaty)
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Some in the medical marijuana business approached retail legalization with apprehension, and that continued with the rollout of recreational sales, said Catherine Lewis, chairman of the Maine Medical Marijuana Caregivers trade association.
“The way it was implemented was more for big commercial businesses than for the small home industry in Maine that we started with the medical program,” she said.
For now, however, the retail industry is excited to start operating, even in less than ideal circumstances, said David Boyer, a consultant to the Portland cannabis industry.
“Maine has been growing marijuana for a long time, and with tourism down because of COVID, it can be difficult for some of these places when you open up,” said Boyer. “There are things on the shelves.”