An Act to Clarify Provisions of the Cannabis Legalization Act Regarding Labels, Packaging and Testing
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0048
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: PIERCE
Amends: 28-B MRSA §102, 28-B MRSA §601, 28-B MRSA §602, 28-B MRSA §602-A, 28-B MRSA §603, 28-B MRSA §605, 28-B MRSA §701, 28-B MRSA §703

Legislative Document
No. 48
S.P. 40
In Senate, January 4, 2023
An Act to Clarify Provisions of the Cannabis Legalization Act 
Regarding Labels, Packaging and Testing
Submitted by the Department of Administrative and Financial Services pursuant to Joint 
Rule 204.
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator PIERCE of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  28-B MRSA §102, sub-§7-A is enacted to read:
7-A.  Cartoon.  "Cartoon" means any drawing or other depiction of an object, person, 
animal or creature or similar caricature that meets any of the following criteria:
A.  The use of comically exaggerated features;
B.  The attribution of human characteristics to animals, plants or other objects;
C.  The attribution of animal, plant or other object characteristics to humans; and
D.  The attribution of unnatural or extra-human abilities.
Sec. 2.  28-B MRSA §102, sub-§26-A is enacted to read:
26-A.  Matrix.  "Matrix" means, as applicable to the testing of cannabis or a cannabis 
product, the form the cannabis or cannabis product is in at the time it is subject to mandatory 
testing under subchapter 6, including cannabis flower, cannabis trim and cannabis 
concentrate.
Sec. 3.  28-B MRSA §601, as amended by PL 2021, c. 612, §1 and c. 669, §5, is 
further amended to read:
§601.  Testing program established
The department shall establish a testing program for adult use cannabis and adult use 
cannabis products.  Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, the program must 
require a licensee, prior to selling or distributing adult use cannabis or an adult use cannabis 
product to a consumer, to submit the cannabis or cannabis product to a testing facility for 
testing to ensure that the cannabis or cannabis product, in the matrix in which it is intended 
to be sold or distributed to a consumer, does not exceed the maximum level of allowable 
contamination for any contaminant that is injurious to health and for which testing is 
required and to ensure correct labeling. The department shall adopt rules establishing a 
testing program pursuant to this section, rules identifying the types of contaminants that 
are injurious to health for which cannabis and cannabis products must be tested under this 
subchapter, based upon the matrix in which the cannabis or cannabis products are intended 
to be sold or distributed to a consumer, as applicable, and rules regarding the maximum 
level of allowable contamination for each contaminant. In adopting rules in accordance 
with this section, the department may waive testing for certain analytes based upon matrix 
type as applicable to reduce redundant testing. Rules adopted pursuant to this subchapter 
are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
Sec. 4.  28-B MRSA §602, as amended by PL 2021, c. 558, §1, c. 612, §2 and c. 
669, §5, is further amended to read:
§602.  Mandatory testing
A licensee may not sell or distribute adult use cannabis or an adult use cannabis product 
to a consumer under this chapter unless the cannabis or cannabis product has been tested 
pursuant to this subchapter and the rules adopted pursuant to this subchapter and that 
mandatory testing has demonstrated that the cannabis or cannabis product does not exceed 
the maximum level of allowable contamination for any contaminant that is injurious to 
health and for which testing is required as applicable based upon the matrix in which the 
cannabis or cannabis product is intended to be sold or distributed to a consumer.
1.  Scope of mandatory testing, generally.  Mandatory Except as provided in 
subsections 1-A to 1-E, mandatory testing of adult use cannabis and adult use cannabis 
products under this section must include, but is not limited to, testing for:
A.  Residual solvents, poisons and toxins;
B.  Harmful chemicals;
C.  Dangerous molds and mildew;
D.  Harmful microbes, including, but not limited to, Escherichia coli and salmonella 
Salmonella;
E.  Pesticides, fungicides and insecticides; and
F.  THC potency, homogeneity and cannabinoid profiles to ensure correct labeling.
The department may temporarily waive mandatory testing requirements under this section 
for any contaminant or factor for which the department has determined that there exists no 
licensed testing facility in the State capable of and certified to perform such testing. The 
department may require testing for some analytes in some matrices before the cannabis is 
further processed, manufactured or combined to ensure that contaminants that are injurious 
to health do not contaminate other batches of cannabis or cannabis products.
1-A.  Scope of mandatory testing for cannabis flower and cannabis trim for sale 
or distribution to a consumer.  The following tests are mandatory for cannabis flower or 
cannabis trim prior to sale or distribution to a consumer:
A.  Harmful chemicals;
B.  Dangerous molds and mildew;
C.  Harmful microbes, including, but not limited to, Escherichia coli and Salmonella;
D.  Pesticides, fungicides and insecticides; and
E.  THC potency and cannabinoid profiles.
1-B.  Scope of mandatory testing for cannabis flower and cannabis trim subject 
to further processing, manufacturing or alteration.  The following tests are mandatory 
for cannabis flower or cannabis trim subject to further processing, manufacturing or 
alteration before sale or distribution to a consumer:
A.  Harmful chemicals; and
B.  Pesticides, fungicides and insecticides.
1-C.  Scope of mandatory testing for cannabis concentrate for sale or distribution 
to a consumer.  The following tests are mandatory for cannabis concentrate prior to sale 
or distribution to a consumer:
A.  Residual solvents, poisons and toxins; and
B.  THC potency, homogeneity and cannabinoid profiles.
1-D.  Scope of mandatory testing for cannabis concentrate subject to further 
processing, manufacturing or alteration.  The following tests are mandatory for cannabis 
concentrate subject to further processing, manufacturing or alteration before sale or 
distribution to a consumer:
A.  Residual solvents, poisons and toxins.
1-E.  Scope of mandatory testing for cannabis products for sale or distribution to 
a consumer.  Except as exempted by section 605, subsection 4, the following tests are 
mandatory for cannabis products for sale or distribution to a consumer:
A.  Dangerous molds and mildew;
B.  Harmful microbes, including, but not limited to, Escherichia coli and Salmonella; 
and
C.  THC potency, homogeneity and cannabinoid profiles.
2.  Record keeping.  A licensee shall maintain a record of all mandatory testing that 
includes a description of the adult use cannabis or adult use cannabis product provided to 
the testing facility, the identity of the testing facility and the results of the mandatory test.
3.  Testing process, protocols and standards.  The department shall establish by rule 
processes, protocols and standards for mandatory and other testing of cannabis and 
cannabis products that conform with the best practices generally used within the cannabis 
industry based upon the matrix in which the cannabis or cannabis products are intended to 
be sold or distributed to a consumer, including, but not limited to, an allowable variance 
rate for determining the amount or potency of THC or other cannabinoids in edible cannabis 
products.
Sec. 5.  28-B MRSA §602-A is enacted to read:
§602-A.  Audit testing by the department
Notwithstanding sections 604-A and 605, the department or the Department of Health 
and Human Services may collect samples of cannabis and cannabis products from a 
licensee and submit those samples for audit testing by a testing facility, for the purpose of 
ensuring compliance with the requirements of this chapter and rules adopted pursuant to 
this chapter.  The department or the Department of Health and Human Services may also 
conduct audit testing of testing facilities to ensure compliance with the requirements of this 
chapter and rules adopted pursuant to this chapter.  Unless a licensee is subject to the 
collection and submission of more than 24 samples of cannabis or cannabis products for 
audit testing within a calendar year, all costs of the audit testing must be paid for by the 
licensee.
The department shall adopt rules regarding the circumstances under which audit testing 
of licensees may be conducted in accordance with this section.  Rules adopted pursuant to 
this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
Sec. 6.  28-B MRSA §603, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 409, Pt. A, §6 and 
amended by PL 2021, c. 669, §5, is further amended to read:
1.  Notification of testing results required.  If the results of a mandatory test 
conducted pursuant to section 602 indicate that the tested adult use cannabis or adult use 
cannabis product exceeds the maximum level of allowable contamination for any 
contaminant that is injurious to health and for which testing is required, the testing facility 
immediately shall quarantine, document and properly destroy the cannabis or cannabis 
product, except when the owner of the tested cannabis or cannabis product has successfully 
undertaken remediation and retesting, and within 30 days of completing the test shall notify 
the department of the test results notify the department and the licensee that submitted the 
cannabis or cannabis product for testing.  The licensee that submitted the cannabis or 
cannabis product for testing may undertake remediation or retesting, as applicable, within 
days of receiving the test results indicating that the tested cannabis or cannabis product 
exceeds the maximum level of allowable contamination for any contaminant that is 
injurious to health and for which testing is required.
A.  A licensee may, at any time, voluntarily destroy cannabis or cannabis products.
B.  A licensee that opts to retest or remediate tested cannabis or a cannabis product that 
exceeds the maximum level of allowable contamination for any contaminant that is 
injurious to health and for which testing is required shall retest the cannabis or cannabis 
product in accordance with this paragraph:
(1)  For cannabis or a cannabis product that is not remediated, the cannabis or 
cannabis product must be retested twice for all analytes required for the matrix it 
was in when it was first tested;
(2)  For cannabis or a cannabis product that is remediated in a manner that does not 
cause the matrix of the cannabis or cannabis product to change, the cannabis or 
cannabis product must be retested twice for all analytes required for the matrix it 
was in when it was first tested; and
(3)  For cannabis or a cannabis product that is remediated in a manner that causes 
the matrix of the cannabis or cannabis product to change, the cannabis or cannabis 
product must be retested once for all analytes required for the matrix it is in after 
it has been remediated.
Sec. 7.  28-B MRSA §605, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2021, c. 612, §4 and c. 669, 
§5, is further amended to read:
4.  No subsequent processing, manufacturing or alteration.  Since the performance 
of the prior testing under subsection 1, the cannabis or cannabis product has not undergone 
any further processing, manufacturing or alteration that would result in an increase in the 
concentration of any contaminants or factors identified in section 602, subsection 
subsections 1 to 1-E or in any rules adopted by the department pursuant to that section.
A.  The manufacture of edible cannabis products in a products manufacturing facility 
that is licensed in accordance with the requirements of section 502, subsection 10 must 
be presumed not to result in an increase in the concentration of dangerous molds and 
mildew or harmful microbes.
B.  The department may conduct audits of cannabis products for which additional 
testing was not required in accordance with paragraph A to ensure the edible cannabis 
products do not exceed the maximum level of allowable contamination for dangerous 
molds and mildew or harmful microbes, with all costs of the audits paid for by the 
licensee.
The department shall adopt rules regarding the circumstances under which additional 
testing is not required pursuant to this section and the conduct of audits of edible cannabis 
products pursuant to this section.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine 
technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
Sec. 8.  28-B MRSA §701, sub-§4, ¶D, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 409, Pt. A, §6, 
is amended to read:
D.  May not be sold or offered for sale using a label or packaging that depicts includes 
a human, animal or fruit cartoon; and
Sec. 9.  28-B MRSA §703, sub-§1, ¶F, as amended by PL 2021, c. 558, §4, is 
further amended to read:
F.  May not contain more than 10 milligrams of THC per serving of the product and 
may not contain more than 100 milligrams of THC per package of the product, with an 
allowable variance rate of 10%, except that the allowable variance may not be less than 
0.6 milligrams or greater than 5 milligrams. In the calculation of the amount of THC 
allowed under this paragraph, the allowable variance rate must be in addition to the 
allowable variance rate applicable to a testing facility pursuant to section 602, 
subsection 3;
Sec. 10.  28-B MRSA §703, sub-§1, ¶F-1, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 558, §5, is 
amended to read:
F-1.  May, except as provided in paragraph F, have the amount or potency of 
cannabinoids calculated using an allowable variance rate of 10%, except that the 
allowable variance may not be less than 0.6 milligrams or greater than 5 milligrams. In 
the calculation of the amount or potency of cannabinoids allowed under this paragraph, 
the allowable variance rate may be in addition to the allowable variance rate applicable 
to a testing facility pursuant to section 602, subsection 3;
SUMMARY
This bill amends the Cannabis Legalization Act.  It defines "cartoon" and "matrix," 
removes the prohibition against a label or packaging that depicts a human, animal or fruit 
and adds a prohibition against a label or packaging that includes a cartoon.  It removes the 
0.6 to 5 milligram limitation on the allowable variance rate of 10% on the amount or 
potency of cannabinoids for a serving or package of edible cannabis products. It also 
amends testing requirements to account for matrices, including adding specific testing 
requirements for cannabis flower, cannabis trim, cannabis concentrate and cannabis 
products. It also provides for audit testing and amends the provisions regarding notification 
of testing results to address retesting and remediation.