Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Medical marijuana sales at the state's dispensaries grew more than 30 percent in 2014 to over $16 million, according to Maine Revenue Services – and that figure doesn't include the thousands of people legally buying direct from growers.
Last year, the state recorded $16.2 million in sales and collected $892,885 in sales tax from the five owners who operate eight dispensaries, spokesman David Heidrich Jr. said.
Maine voters legalized medical marijuana in 1999. Dispensaries, including Remedy Compassion Center in Auburn, grow marijuana and sell to patients whose doctors certify that those patients have debilitating conditions that allow use under state law.
Heidrich said in 2013, dispensaries reported $12.5 million in sales and $636,986 in sales tax.
The figures don't include sales or taxes from people buying instead from the roughly 1,200 licensed caregivers who grow for specific patients.
Paul McCarrier, president of the group Legalize Maine, said 30 percent growth tracks with his experience.
"We're seeing it becoming more of an accepted thing and less of a stigma," he said. "I think we're seeing more people who are 40s to middle-age professionals who are getting the certification because they feel there's a certain legitimacy to it now."
Maine requires only voluntary registration of patients using medical marijuana, and 1,510 people are registered, but that's "in no way representative of the total number of people actually using medical marijuana," Department of Health and Human Services spokesman David Sorensen said Friday.
McCarrier estimated 15,500 to 17,000 people in Maine are certified by doctors as suffering from cancer, glaucoma or other conditions that qualify them to use medical marijuana.
That's up from an estimated 13,000 in 2013.
David Boyer, Maine political director of the Marijuana Policy Project, suspects a majority of patients are accessing it from independent caregivers, each of whom is licensed to grow for up to five people.
"It's hard to know for sure," he said. "Given that there are only eight dispensaries and the geographic challenges that come with that, a lot of people just can't drive a half-hour to get their medical marijuana."
His group hopes to start collecting signatures in April for a statewide referendum legalizing recreational use in Maine.
Boyer believes more people are turning to medical marijuana to get off prescription pharmaceuticals, the same trend McCarrier and Hillary Lister, director of Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine, have spotted.
"The biggest group of patients I'm seeing are people in their 70s and 80s who never used cannabis in any form in the past," Lister said. "More and more of the new patients, they're not interested in smoking; they're interested in tinctures and oils and topical salves."
They might use a marijuana salve along with treatment for skin cancer or an edible to help them sleep.
She's also seen more pediatric patients and more people drawn to Maine specifically for medical marijuana.
"We see it every time we have a meeting, a lot of retirees who are moving here and want to be able to grow for themselves," she said.
As of December, 1,197 caregivers were registered with DHHS, she said. They're not currently reporting sales to the state under a uniform code, so Lister said it's impossible to measure the actual size of the industry in Maine.
"That's one of the things that we might be tackling through legislation this session," she said. "Right now, there is no category for medical marijuana caregivers, so when they file taxes, some people it's under agriculture, some people it's under health care. Different accountants are advising different caregivers what to categorize themselves as."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
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Author: Kathryn Skelton
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Photo Credit: MovingForMarijuana
Website: Central and Western Maine News | Sun Journal
Last year, the state recorded $16.2 million in sales and collected $892,885 in sales tax from the five owners who operate eight dispensaries, spokesman David Heidrich Jr. said.
Maine voters legalized medical marijuana in 1999. Dispensaries, including Remedy Compassion Center in Auburn, grow marijuana and sell to patients whose doctors certify that those patients have debilitating conditions that allow use under state law.
Heidrich said in 2013, dispensaries reported $12.5 million in sales and $636,986 in sales tax.
The figures don't include sales or taxes from people buying instead from the roughly 1,200 licensed caregivers who grow for specific patients.
Paul McCarrier, president of the group Legalize Maine, said 30 percent growth tracks with his experience.
"We're seeing it becoming more of an accepted thing and less of a stigma," he said. "I think we're seeing more people who are 40s to middle-age professionals who are getting the certification because they feel there's a certain legitimacy to it now."
Maine requires only voluntary registration of patients using medical marijuana, and 1,510 people are registered, but that's "in no way representative of the total number of people actually using medical marijuana," Department of Health and Human Services spokesman David Sorensen said Friday.
McCarrier estimated 15,500 to 17,000 people in Maine are certified by doctors as suffering from cancer, glaucoma or other conditions that qualify them to use medical marijuana.
That's up from an estimated 13,000 in 2013.
David Boyer, Maine political director of the Marijuana Policy Project, suspects a majority of patients are accessing it from independent caregivers, each of whom is licensed to grow for up to five people.
"It's hard to know for sure," he said. "Given that there are only eight dispensaries and the geographic challenges that come with that, a lot of people just can't drive a half-hour to get their medical marijuana."
His group hopes to start collecting signatures in April for a statewide referendum legalizing recreational use in Maine.
Boyer believes more people are turning to medical marijuana to get off prescription pharmaceuticals, the same trend McCarrier and Hillary Lister, director of Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine, have spotted.
"The biggest group of patients I'm seeing are people in their 70s and 80s who never used cannabis in any form in the past," Lister said. "More and more of the new patients, they're not interested in smoking; they're interested in tinctures and oils and topical salves."
They might use a marijuana salve along with treatment for skin cancer or an edible to help them sleep.
She's also seen more pediatric patients and more people drawn to Maine specifically for medical marijuana.
"We see it every time we have a meeting, a lot of retirees who are moving here and want to be able to grow for themselves," she said.
As of December, 1,197 caregivers were registered with DHHS, she said. They're not currently reporting sales to the state under a uniform code, so Lister said it's impossible to measure the actual size of the industry in Maine.
"That's one of the things that we might be tackling through legislation this session," she said. "Right now, there is no category for medical marijuana caregivers, so when they file taxes, some people it's under agriculture, some people it's under health care. Different accountants are advising different caregivers what to categorize themselves as."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Cookies Disabled | Sun Journal
Author: Kathryn Skelton
Contact: kskelton@sunjournal.com
Photo Credit: MovingForMarijuana
Website: Central and Western Maine News | Sun Journal
