An Act to Reform the State's Adult Use Cannabis Seed-to-sale Tracking System to Allow for Canopy Tagging
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1529
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: SUPICA, BOYER, LOOKNER, MALON, RIELLY, HICKMAN
Amends: 28-B MRSA §105

Legislative Document
No. 1529
H.P. 984
House of Representatives, April 5, 2023
An Act to Reform the State's Adult Use Cannabis Seed-to-sale 
Tracking System to Allow for Canopy Tagging
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative SUPICA of Bangor.
Cosponsored by Representatives: BOYER of Poland, LOOKNER of Portland, MALON of 
Biddeford, RIELLY of Westbrook, Senator: HICKMAN of Kennebec.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  28-B MRSA §105, as corrected by RR 2021, c. 2, Pt. A, §106, is further 
amended to read:
§105.  Tracking system
The department shall implement and administer a system, referred to in this section as 
"the tracking system," for the tracking of cannabis plants, adult use cannabis and adult use 
cannabis products from immature cannabis plant to the point of retail sale, disposal or 
destruction. The tracking system must allow for cannabis plants at the stage of cultivation 
and upon transfer from the stage of cultivation to another licensee to be tracked by group, 
including, but not limited to, by plant canopy, to the point of retail sale, disposal or 
destruction.  The department may shall implement a tracking system that allows adult use 
cannabis or adult use cannabis products to be tracked by group.
The department shall ensure that the system implemented and administered under this 
section, whether tracking individually or by group, maintains a detailed record at every 
stage from immature cannabis plant to the point of retail sale, disposal or destruction.
1.  Data submission requirements.  The tracking system must allow licensees to 
submit tracking data for adult use cannabis or adult use cannabis products to the department 
through manual data entry or through the use of tracking system software commonly used 
within the cannabis industry as determined by the department.
1-A.  Group tracking.  Cannabis plants at the same stage of growth that are of the 
same varietal or cultivar of the plant genus Cannabis may be tracked by group if they:
A.  Are planted in the same specific area at the same time;
B.  Are transplanted to the same specific area at the same time; or
C.  Include cannabis plants that were planted in a specific area and cannabis plants that 
were transplanted to the same specific area.; or
D.  Are within a plant canopy.
For cannabis plants that are tracked as a group, a licensee shall designate the square footage 
of the specific area in which the plants are planted or transplanted.  Cannabis plants may 
not be tracked as a group unless they are intended for harvest as a group.
1-B.  Tagging.  A licensee shall affix a tag containing the identifying information 
required by the department by rule to each group of cannabis plants tracked under this 
section.  The department may not require cannabis plants that are being tracked as a group 
to be individually affixed with a tag during cultivation or subsequent transfer to another 
licensee.
1-C.  Group transfers.  When a group of cannabis plants tracked under this section is 
transferred to another licensee person, the licensee transferring the group of cannabis plants 
must provide a manifest that lists every cannabis plant within the group and any other 
relevant information required by the department by rule.
2.  Rules.  The department shall adopt rules regarding the implementation and 
administration of the tracking system and tracking requirements for licensees.  Rules 
adopted under this section must include, but are not limited to, the following:
A.  Record-keeping requirements for the tracking of cannabis plants when tracked 
individually and when tracked by group; and
B.  Record-keeping requirements necessary to ensure the department's ability to 
implement a recall for reasons related to health and safety when tracking cannabis 
plants individually or by group.
Sec. 2.  Contract.  The contract of the Department of Administrative and Financial 
Services' office of cannabis policy with Metrc, LLC to implement the Maine Cannabis 
Enforcement Tracking Reporting and Compliance webpage is void and of no effect if, on 
the effective date of this Act, the webpage is not in compliance with the requirements of 
the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 28-B, section 105 as in effect on January 1, 2023.
SUMMARY
This bill provides that group tracking of cannabis plants, currently provided for under 
the Cannabis Legalization Act through wholesale transactions, is extended through to retail 
sale, disposal or destruction. It further provides that the contract of the Department of 
Administrative and Financial Services' office of cannabis policy, with Metrc, LLC to 
implement the Maine Cannabis Enforcement Tracking Reporting and Compliance webpage 
is void and of no effect if, on the effective date of this legislation, the webpage is not in 
compliance with the requirements of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 28-B, section 105 
as in effect on January 1, 2023.