An Act to Change How the Adult Use Cannabis Excise Tax Is Calculated
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1392
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: PIERCE, PERRY, DAUGHTRY, RENY, BOYER
Amends: 36 MRSA §4921, 36 MRSA §4923, 36 MRSA §4923-A, 36 MRSA §4923-B

Legislative Document
No. 1392
S.P. 559
In Senate, March 28, 2023
An Act to Change How the Adult Use Cannabis Excise Tax Is 
Calculated
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator PIERCE of Cumberland.
Cosponsored by Representative PERRY of Bangor and
Senators: DAUGHTRY of Cumberland, RENY of Lincoln, Representative: BOYER of Poland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  36 MRSA §4921, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:
2-A.  Department.  "Department" has the same meaning as in Title 28-B, section 102, 
subsection 14.
Sec. 2.  36 MRSA §4921, sub-§2-B is enacted to read:
2-B.  Extraction.  "Extraction" has the same meaning as "cannabis extraction" in Title 
28-B, section 102, subsection 30.
Sec. 3.  36 MRSA §4921, sub-§2-C is enacted to read:
2-C.  Fair market value.  "Fair market value" means the average price, as determined 
by the department by rulemaking on a biannual basis, based on the price that a buyer would 
pay to a seller in an arm's length transaction for cannabis in the wholesale market, with the 
determination including one or more rates that cover unprocessed cannabis that is allocated 
for extraction and the initial rates for these product types being lower than the rate for 
unprocessed cannabis that is allocated for sale to consumers.
Sec. 4.  36 MRSA §4923, as amended by PL 2021, c. 323, §§3 and 4 and c. 669, §5, 
is further amended by amending the section headnote to read:
§4923.  Excise tax imposed prior to July 1, 2024
Sec. 5.  36 MRSA §4923, first ¶, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 231, Pt. B, §7 and 
amended by PL 2021, c. 669, §5, is further amended to read:
Beginning on the first day of the calendar month in which adult use cannabis may be 
sold in the State by a cultivation facility under Title 28‑B, chapter 1 and prior to July 1, 
2024, an excise tax on adult use cannabis is imposed in accordance with this chapter.
Sec. 6.  36 MRSA §4923-A, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 323, §5 and amended by c. 
669, §5, is amended to read:
§4923-A.  Calculation of excise tax imposed on wet cannabis flower and wet cannabis 
trim
For purposes of the excise tax imposed pursuant to section 4923 or section 4923-B on 
wet cannabis flower or wet cannabis trim, a cultivation facility licensee shall calculate the 
taxable weight by reducing the total weight of the wet cannabis flower or wet cannabis trim 
by 75% before applying the excise tax.
Sec. 7.  36 MRSA §4923-B is enacted to read:
§4923-B.  Excise tax imposed beginning July 1, 2024
Beginning  July 1,  2024, an excise tax on adult use cannabis is imposed in accordance 
with this chapter.
1.  Excise tax on cannabis flower.  A cultivation facility licensee shall pay an excise 
tax of 10% of the fair market value of cannabis flower sold to other licensees in the State.  
2.  Excise tax on cannabis trim.  A cultivation facility licensee shall pay an excise tax 
of 10% of the fair market value of cannabis trim sold to other licensees in the State.  
3. Excise tax on cannabis flower and cannabis trim for extraction.  A cultivation 
facility licensee shall pay an excise tax of 10% of the fair market value of cannabis flower 
and cannabis trim allocated for extraction sold to other licensees in the State. 
4.  Excise tax on immature cannabis plants and seedlings.  A cultivation facility 
licensee shall pay an excise tax of 10% of the fair market value of immature cannabis plants 
and seedlings sold to other licensees in the State.  
5.  Excise tax on mature cannabis plants. A cultivation facility licensee shall pay an 
excise tax of 10% of the fair market value of mature cannabis plants sold to other licensees 
in the State.  
6.  Excise tax on cannabis seeds.  A cultivation facility licensee shall pay an excise 
tax of 10% of the fair market value of cannabis seeds sold to other licensees in the State.  
7.  Excise tax on purchases from registered caregivers and registered dispensaries.  
A cultivation facility licensee authorized pursuant to Title 28-B, section 501, subsection 6, 
paragraph A to purchase cannabis plants and cannabis seeds from registered caregivers and 
registered dispensaries that transacts such a purchase shall pay to the assessor the excise 
taxes that would have been imposed under subsections 1 to 6 on the sale of the cannabis 
plants and cannabis seeds if the cannabis plants and cannabis seeds had been sold by a 
cultivation facility licensee to another licensee.  
8.  Multiple licenses.  When a cultivation facility licensee also holds a license to 
operate another cannabis establishment, the taxes imposed by subsections 1 to 6 apply to 
any transfer of cannabis from the cultivation facility to the other cannabis establishment or, 
if no such transfer is made, to any activity undertaken pursuant to Title 28-B, section 501, 
subsection 2 or 4 with regard to cannabis cultivated by the cultivation facility.
SUMMARY
Beginning July 1, 2024, this bill changes the basis for the calculation of the excise tax 
on cannabis products from the weight or quantity of product sold to the fair market value 
of the product sold.  Fair market value would be determined biannually by the Department 
of Administrative and Financial Services.