Maine wants the state's medical and adult-use cannabis businesses to have the same rules whenever possible, but small operators say that would drive up prices and put them out of business.

Marijuana advocates see the proposal for a 4-person division of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency to investigate marijuana crimes as an effort to outlaw the drug again.

The disadvantaged, marijuana business veterans and those who own or have long-term shop leases are among those favored in the retail license regulation to be considered by the City Council.

The $111.6 million market is twice as large as previously thought and is exceeded in value only by the lobster and potato industries.

The industry is split over efforts to keep marijuana license details secret, but opposes a bill that would drive up the price of edibles, salves and tinctures.

Maine wants to exempt trade secrets, security and operating procedures of adult-use marijuana businesses from the state public records law.

The contractor, Metrc LLC of Florida, tracks 12 other state marijuana industries, plus Washington, D.C.

Strict new state THC limits have also been dropped, but new federal guidelines will still go into effect on Oct. 1.

Advocates say it would allow legitimate businesses to compete with black market sellers, but the state says it would be too hard to regulate at this time.

City Council committees continue to debate proposed rules for a lottery to award as many as 20 retail licenses, meaning Portland won't be ready when the state is likely to start recreational sales.

The state wants to change the way it differentiates hemp from marijuana to echo stricter federal guidelines.

Officials are scheduled to meet Tuesday to finalize the proposed regulations they will send to the City Council for approval.

Josh Quint, director of operations for the Biddeford-based medical marijuana firm Canuvo, will become the first grower to serve on the 15-member panel.

A proposal to protect financial institutions serving marijuana businesses was stripped from the federal spending bill, and a measure to improve access to banking is held up in the Senate Banking Committee.

The state's proposal would double the per-acre cost for farmers and change the way the psychoactive element of hemp is measured.

Under the proposed standards, 27% of Mainers farming hemp in 2019 would have tested 'hot' for exceeding allowable THC levels in their plants.

Nelson Analytical applies for certification from the Maine CDC, a first step toward applying to the Maine Office of Marijuana Policy.

The state will publish application forms this week; on the municipal level, the process is already well underway.

Approved farmers will be eligible for key federal agriculture assistance, including farm loans and insurance, in 2020.

For one month, Maine hemp farmers had the state's CBD-infused food market to themselves, but a law change has reopened it to out-of-state growers.

Three years after legalizing adult-use marijuana, the state’s still waiting for retail shops. Consultants say the economy paid the price as dollars and expertise went elsewhere.

A proposed scoring system for the city's 20 licenses would favor women- and minority-owned businesses, Maine residents, those willing to share profits with the city and those with a business track record.

Other states have struggled to license enough, resulting in long delays, supply shortfalls and testing waivers

About 50 people flock to Sheepscot General Farm, believed to be only the second publicly accessible hemp field in the U.S., on the first of 4 days of picking for consumers looking for plants to turn into CBD lotions and tinctures.

The state's pot policy office initially describes a costly tagging system for tracing products from plant to retail, then offers a more business-friendly explanation hours later.

More than 20 medical marijuana shops dot the roadway, tempting tourists to stop and peruse their wares.

Maine's biggest medical marijuana provider wants to break up with the Rhode Island company behind its extraction operation, blaming it for $14 million in losses.

Staffers say the limit is needed to protect the market and Portland's economy, but some city councilors question the cap and the first-come, first-served method of awarding licenses.

A state law that took effect Thursday was created as a workaround to a federal ban.

Maine's adult-use marijuana industry will have the strictest residency rules in the nation.

Maine's biggest marijuana company, Wellness Connection, had threatened to sue, claiming rules' residency requirement went beyond the law.

The latest version, which will go to the Legislature for approval, would relax packaging and residency requirements.

The May 23 hearing in Portland will be the first opportunity for the public to provide in-person testimony on the state's draft of adult-use cannabis regulations.

This second attempt to secure a track-and-trace contract marks a major milestone in the state's effort to roll out its adult-use market

Massachusetts authorities are investigating how marijuana from a Maine dispensary ended up at a Framingham testing lab, apparently crossing state lines in violation of federal law.

Potential retailers give mostly decent grades to the draft marijuana regulations released by the state Monday.

Proposed regulations, made public at the request of the Press Herald, cover everything from licensing, inventory tracking and enforcement to advertising, packaging and labeling.

The LA firm BOTEC will analyze proposed rules for Maine's recreational pot industry.

Nebraska's conservative lawmakers are again expected to reject a measure calling for highly regulated medical marijuana, but that likely won't be the end of the issue

Christen, of Starks, said the reason for the protest was to ‘free the people’ from the new ‘Reefer Madness,’ referring to the 1936 cult film about the horrors of marijuana use.

Residents can now grow cannabis for recreational use at home, but still have no way to legally buy or sell it.

A patchwork of regulations is expected to limit Canada sales to $5.2 billion, down from an initial forecast of $5.9 billion.

A judge has blocked yet another attempt by Michigan officials to shut down unlicensed medical marijuana provisioning centers

On Wednesday, Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed a law allowing the use of hemp-derived cannabidiol in food products, but federal law prohibits the addition of CBD to prepared food.

Scott Lever will report to Erik Gundersen, who leads the state's new Office of Marijuana Policy.

A deal with a Florida company to provide seed-to-sale tracking has been set aside and will be rebid.

Stewart is partnering with Canopy Growth Corp. to assist in developing new products.

In its second solicitation for a consultant to guide the state's oversight of recreational marijuana, regulators pick Freedman and Koski, which challenged a previous award to a competitor.

Supporters say L.D. 630 is the fastest way to reopen the lucrative CBD market, which was all but shut down by a state order last month.

The dispensary owners attribute the decline to increased and unfair competition that forces them to cut prices, driving down revenue even more.