Maine – Last year, State Lawmakers in Maine had decided to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Thousands of voters narrowly approved it. This year, the challenge is finding out if there needs to be a limit on the quantity of the cannabis plant that would be grown and harvested for recreational purposes in Maine.

At the moment, no cultivation cap is set to the eight dispensaries for medical marijuana in Maine. However, this may change because the Legislature recently established an adult market implementation. For now, the law states that caregivers have a six flowering cannabis plants ratio per patient. Each caregiver would only have up to six individuals at a time, including him or herself, so that adds up to 36 flowering cannabis plants.

On June 14, 2017, 7 P.M., an annual town meeting in Thomaston, Maine would be held at the American Legion Hall. All voters are invited to share their thoughts if they want to approve or disapprove an ordinance amendment. This amendment would like to regulate the marijuana dispensaries, testing and manufacturing facilities, cultivation and stores of marijuana.

Marijuana establishments and social clubs are currently prohibited in the district. All marijuana stores are only allowed in the commercialized highway zoning district, especially in Route 1. Those that have the facilities to manufacture, cultivate and test marijuana can be allowed in the industrial area.

As for marijuana dispensaries, they can be approved by the Planning Board as long as they are registered in the Maine Farmland Program. They would be receiving the Farmland Program Assessments within a five-year or more periods. The Planning Board would still review all facilities.

One good reason for the cultivation cap is the demands of marijuana for Maine residents, including tourists. It is estimated that the demand per year is approximately 320,669 pounds of cannabis.

About 65,000 heavy-user residents of Maine smoke marijuana twice a day.The 260,000 casual users smoke one or two times a week. If the cap is included, about 132 to 200,000 pounds of cannabis would be grown and would not meet the demands of marijuana use.