LD 104 and LR 854: What’s Next for Maine’s Medical Cannabis Industry?

5 March 2025

A bipartisan group of lawmakers and public health advocates in Maine is pushing for significant regulatory changes to Maine's medical cannabis market. Two bills—LD 104, “An Act to Protect the Health of Medical Cannabis Patients and Streamline the Mandatory Testing of Cannabis”, and LR 854, “An Act to Protect Patients in the Medical Use of Cannabis Program and Provide for Public Health Guardrails in the Adult Use of Cannabis Program and the Medical Use of Cannabis Program”—aim to implement mandatory testing and stricter oversight.

Maine is currently the only U.S. state that does not require testing for contaminants such as mold, pesticides, and heavy metals in its medical cannabis market. LD 104, sponsored by Rep. Marc Malon (Democrat from Biddeford), would establish a mandatory testing program, define key cannabis-related terms, and create a system for sampling, auditing, and inventory tracking. Meanwhile, LR 854, sponsored by Rep. Anne Graham (Democrat from North Yarmouth), seeks to limit the potency of medical cannabis products, aligning them with the restrictions already imposed on recreational cannabis.

Public health advocates argue that the changes are necessary to protect consumers, citing reports that nearly 42% of tested medical cannabis in 2023 contained contaminants that would fail recreational standards. Concerns over underage cannabis use and illegal grow operations using unregulated pesticides have also fueled calls for reform.

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