There are two aspects to the State of Maine's Medical Use of Cannabis Program (MMCP): statute and rule. The Medical Use of Cannabis Act currently appears in Title 22, Chapter 558-C of the Maine Revised Statutes.
Rules are implemented by state agencies to build upon existing law and provide a shared understanding of how a regulatory agency interprets statutory language.
There are various aspects of the rulemaking process that OCP undertakes. Some of these are formal and required by the Maine Administrative Procedures Act, while others are informal and used to gather input to further inform the work of OCP. Ongoing rulemaking activity of the office can be found in the related links (proposed rules).
Currently, OCP is engaging in major substantive rulemaking for the medical program to implement public laws passed by the First Regular and Special Sessions of the 131st Legislature. The proposed rule and public comment form can be accessed here. All public comments must be submitted to OCP by October 10, 2023, at 11:59 p.m.
OCP is also hosting an in-person public hearing on September 26, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. as another opportunity to solicit public comments and address questions about the rules. The hearing will take place at 19 Union Street (Room 325), Augusta, Maine with a livestream of the hearing available on OCP’s YouTube channel.
OCP’s executive summary contains more information regarding the implementation timelines of these major substantive rules.