Status: Legal

History:

1976: Possession of small amounts of cannabis was decriminalised
1999: Medical cannabis legalised
2009: Possession of less than 2.4oz (68g) of cannabis was decriminalised to a civil infraction (fine only, no criminal record)
2013 - 2014: Municipal legalisation began
2016: State legalises cannabis (sales did not begin until early 2020)

Policy Framework:

• Patients must have a qualifying condition to obtain medical cannabis from a licensed dispensary;
• Patients are permitted to cultivate cannabis in their homes and possess no more than six cannabis plants;
• Patients may possess no more than 2.5oz (70g) of cannabis or its equivalent;
• The legalisation of recreational cannabis law imposes a 10% excise tax on all commercial cannabis-containing products. Legal sales began in March 2020;
• Possession of any more than 2.5oz is a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $US10,000;
• Distribution of any amount of cannabis without a license is a crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $US50,000.

Outcomes:

• Between 2005 and 2017, cannabis use disorder in people under the age of 12 decreased from 2.5% to 1.8%;
• The medical cannabis market is the third-largest sector in the state with $US111.6 million of legal medical cannabis being bought in 2019 and has grown substantially since the medical legalisation in 1999;
• According to Maine’s Legislature, the 12% sales tax on marijuana was projected to produce up to $US3.1 million by the 2020-21 fiscal year.
  
  Source: https://crime-data-explorer.fr.cloud.gov/explorer/state/maine/crime