An Act to Reduce Administrative Burdens and Expand Access in
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0948
Sponsors: PLUECKER, TALBOT ROSS, DAUGHTRY
Amends: 22 MRSA §2423-A, 22 MRSA §2425-A, 28-B MRSA §208, 28-B MRSA §209

Legislative Document
No. 948
H.P. 613
House of Representatives, March 11, 2025
An Act to Reduce Administrative Burdens and Expand Access in 
the Laws Governing Cannabis
Received by the Clerk of the House on March 5, 2025.  Referred to the Committee on 
Veterans and Legal Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative PLUECKER of Warren.
Cosponsored by Senator TALBOT ROSS of Cumberland and
Representatives: BOYER of Poland, JULIA of Waterville, Senators: BRENNER of 
Cumberland, President DAUGHTRY of Cumberland, HICKMAN of Kennebec.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §2423-A, sub-§2, ¶B, as amended by PL 2021, c. 662, §10 and 
c. 669, §5, is further amended to read:
B.  Cultivate up to 30 60 mature cannabis plants, up to 60 120 immature cannabis plants 
and unlimited seedlings or cultivate up to 500 1,000 square feet of mature plant canopy, 
up to 1,000 2,000 square feet of immature plant canopy and unlimited seedlings.  A 
caregiver may not cultivate immature plants by canopy if cultivating mature plants by 
plant count and may not cultivate immature plants by plant count if cultivating mature 
plants by canopy;
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §2425-A, sub-§4, ¶D is enacted to read:
D.  For an applicant holding a valid registration certificate and without any violations 
of the provisions of this Act in the previous year, within 5 business days of receiving 
evidence of municipal authorization pursuant to section 2429-D, subsection 3 when 
necessary and payment of the registration fee pursuant to subsection 10, the department 
shall issue a registry identification card to the applicant.
Sec. 3.  22 MRSA §2425-A, sub-§5, ¶A, as amended by PL 2023, c. 679, Pt. A, 
§12, is further amended to read:
A.  A registry identification card expires 2 years after the date of issuance, regardless 
of the person's employment status, except that a caregiver's registry identification card 
expires one year after the date of issuance.  The card must contain:
(1)  The name of the cardholder;
(2)  The date of issuance and expiration date;
(3)  A randomly generated unique identification number to the cardholder;
(4)  A clear designation showing whether the cardholder is allowed under this 
chapter to cultivate cannabis plants; and
(5)  A photograph of the cardholder, if required by the department.
Sec. 4.  22 MRSA §2425-A, sub-§7, ¶D is enacted to read:
D.  For an applicant without any violations of the provisions of this Act in the previous 
year, within 10 business days of receiving evidence of municipal authorization 
pursuant to section 2429-D, subsection 3 when necessary and payment of the 
registration fee pursuant to subsection 10, the department shall issue a registration 
certificate to the applicant.
Sec. 5.  22 MRSA §2425-A, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2019, c. 331, §20 and PL 
2021, c. 669, §5, is further amended to read:
8.  Requirements for issuance of registration certificates.  A registration certificate 
expires one year 2 years after the date of issuance.  The certificate must contain:
A.  The name of the certificate holder;
B.  The date of issuance and expiration date of the registration certificate;
C.  A random identification number that is unique to the certificate holder;
D.  The physical address of the certificate holder and, if the certificate holder is a 
dispensary, the physical address of one additional location, if any, where cannabis 
plants will be cultivated; and
E.  A clear designation showing whether the certificate holder is allowed under this 
chapter to cultivate cannabis plants.
Sec. 6.  28-B MRSA §208, as amended by PL 2023, c. 679, Pt. B, §40, is further 
amended to read:
§208.  License term
An active license issued by the office pursuant to section 205, subsection 4 is effective 
for a period of one year 2 years from the date of issuance and may be renewed pursuant to 
section 209.
Sec. 7.  28-B MRSA §209, sub-§6 is enacted to read:
6.  Automatic renewal; licensees with no violations.  For licensees without any 
violations of the provisions of this Act in the previous year and that have obtained local 
authorization as required by section 402, subsection 3, paragraph B or, in the case of a 
cannabis establishment located in the unorganized and deorganized areas, as required by 
section 403, subsection 3, paragraphs B and C, 90 days prior to the expiration of an existing 
license issued under section 205, subsection 4, the office shall require only the payment of 
the license fee under this section and shall issue a new active license prior to the expiration 
of the current active license.
SUMMARY
This bill increases the current limit under the medical cannabis laws to allow a 
caregiver to cultivate up to 60 mature cannabis plants, up to 120 immature cannabis plants, 
up to 1,000 square feet of mature plant canopy and up to 2,000 square feet of immature 
plant canopy. The bill also amends the medical cannabis and adult use cannabis laws to 
extend registration and license periods from one year to 2 and updates the license renewal 
process for registrants and licensees without any violations of those laws in the previous 
year to require only the payment of the license fee or registration fee to the Department of 
Administrative and Financial Services, Office of Cannabis Policy for a new active license 
to be issued.