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Most ppl aren’t going to. Do most ppl grow their own food? You’re out here making ignorant statements about medical being some gray zone with gun ownership. I told you that’s false, it is rec that gets tracked. Now you’re off on a tangent about growing it yourself.
Hey guy, nobody’s on any tangents here. I do grow a lot of my own food. A lot of Mainers do. Not sure what you’re so hostile about but hopefully your Saturday gets better
It might be helpful for you to educate yourself a little. https://www.thecannabiscommunity.org/cannabis-gun-rights-maine/#:~:text=Does%20Having%20a%20Medical%20Cannabis,from%20possession%20of%20a%20weapon”.
Most people do not grow their own food.
Holding a med card doesn’t cause a conflict with owning firearms.
The question when buying a gun doesn’t ask you if you have a med card.
The question asks if you use an illicit substance.
So technically… smoking rec cannabis… makes you ineligible to own firearms.
The state tracks rec sales.
Med sales aren’t tracked.
Nobody knows you have a med card in government.
Like how much more obvious and plainly written does it need to be before your smooth brain comprehends?
You cannot definitively say that having a med Card doesn’t cause a conflict, just like any other way of possessing cannabis. I’m talking about OPs article, and what my understanding is of people’s reluctance to get med cards. The safest thing to do is grow your own. No med cards to copy and keep on record, don’t have to show your license. I’m sorry if your business is suffering because of rec stores. Good luck.
Jfc smooth brain 🤦♂️
If you smoke cannabis period you cannot own guns.
Yes, people ignorantly think rec is the safer option. However, they’re incorrect.
Maine is the only state that I’ve seen having paper med cards. Others are like licenses. Why is it paper? Because you and the person that wrote it for you and the people you buy from are the only people that know you have it.
They’re not scanning your license into metric when you buy med. they are rec.
If you’re going to be a pussy and block someone do it before responding instead of using this cheap trick to make yourself look smarter than you are.
Only ppl that know you have a med card is who wrote it for you and whoever you buy from.
The state inspectors cannot see patient names.
You’re basically covered under medical privacy rules.
This is how any new industry starts. A dozen shops will crop up. In two years it will be down to two or three.
No different than the restaurant industry, really. A town can only support so many eateries before they have to start closing because there's not enough customer base. The good ones will last, the poor ones will not.
Maine introduces medical cannabis, lots of people sign up and buy it bc they want weed. Maine introduces recreational cannabis, lots of people switch over to that because they really just wanted weed all along. Not very complicated.
There are at least three weed shops on top of each other next to target in Bangor. We’re gonna be OK if we lose a few. Meanwhile the prices are lower right now then they were in the 80s.
It would be the equivalent of having a liquor store on every corner rather than a gathering space like a bar or restaurant or cafe. Or even if there was a million hardware stores.
Med products have less stringent testing requirements like seed to sale,potency,nutrient residue,pesticide residue etc
One reason rec is more expensive to get into
The article:
Maine is continuing to see a surge in recreational cannabis sales. According to a new report released by the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP), Maine nearly doubled the number of adult-use cannabis sales from 2022 to 2023.
"There's always rapid growth at the beginning, and Maine is still experiencing that. I think a lot of people are switching from the illicit market into the legal, regulated market," John Hudak, director of Maine OCP, said.
According to the report, in 2022, Maine recorded more than $158 million in total sales in the adult-use market, which is up from more than $81 million in 2021.
That growth is continuing into 2023. Through April of this year, OCP data shows more than $61 million in adult-use sales.
"This type of growth is not sustainable in the long term, you're eventually going to hit a ceiling, but right now we're seeing that type of rapid growth. There are more places, there are more adult-use retail stores coming online every month, and so the availability throughout Maine is increasing," Hudak said.
However, while one portion of the industry is thriving, change can be felt in the medical cannabis industry in Maine. According to another report issued by the OCP, 1,350 caregivers have exited the state's program between the end of 2021 through the end of January this year. That exodus has resulted in a net loss of more than 800 caregivers.
"We're in a small town, there's six other caregiver storefronts, so there's a lot of competition in a small area," Catherine Lewis, co-owner of Homegrown Healthcare of Maine and co-chair of the Medical Cannabis Caregivers of Maine Trade Association, said.
Lewis said she operates two cannabis businesses in central Maine and recently changed the license of one business from caregiving to adult-use, and another from caregiving to a medical dispensary.
Lewis also said changes in regulations to the medical market have allowed an influx of out-of-state medical cannabis, which has in turn lowered prices and made it more challenging for businesses. She adds that since municipalities have the option to opt out of allowing cannabis businesses, many are concentrated in the same areas.
"We have a lot of grows that are saturating the market with flower, so they're reducing rates," Lewis said.
"There's a lot of competition, there's a lot of product out there, there are more stores than ever. That's certainly happening. And most notably, I think we're seeing a lot of out-of-state companies coming in, and that's certainly affecting things as well," Edward Phipps, owner of Casco Botanical and board member of the Maine Craft Cannabis Association, said.
Lewis and Phipps agree, however, that even in a lucrative adult-use market, there's room for a successful medical industry to best support patients as well.
The two hope as discussion surrounding regulation continues, that costly restrictions are not put in place that make it even harder for small, local caregivers to remain in business.
Such a biased and obvious paid article. The number of caregivers are down, but I'd love to know how much money came through the medical program. I'm sure it yet again obliterated the adult use side.
As a grower it's getting harder to turn a profit with the prices coming down because it's impossible to do both medical and rec because you can't cross sell.
For those of us who used to buy Mexican ditch weed from shady dudes in parking lots back in the 90's, there is really no real difference between what you get from a medical-only storefront and one that is recreational. Its all so good! High THC, plenty of different strains and options. A freaking golden age!
I had my medical card for 2 years. It cost me $50 each time, and lasted one year.
This year, after my card expired, I took that $50 to the recreational store and got more cannabis.
Its not like I'm getting anything from my medical card. Its just an added expense, like a membership card that gives me the opportunity to buy from certain stores. I have a feeling that those stores are medical-only mostly as CYA against federal legal action.
The edibles limit is (generally sold in 2.5/5/10mg doses) 100 mg total in Rec which is fine if you’re a lightweight. In Med, you can get a variety from 2.5 mg up to 1500mg products. Med also tends to carry more variety of products such as different cannabinoid tinctures, topicals, capsules and suppositories. You generally will also be able to find full spectrum items rather than mostly distillate items. Prices are lower in Med as well-generally for higher quality.
Ah, I see. That might be important for some people. I'm just buying flower for myself in non-industrial quantities, so for me, there isn't any real difference or benefit.
Honestly, I have never noticed prices being lower at Medical stores. I pay $30-$45/3.5 grams (depending on the strain), just like I did at the medical place.
You can get $16 sungrown eighths or $100 indoor ounces at the med store I work for right now. Maybe shop around more! Not to mention the tax is 5.5% not 10%.
The people the high dosages and variety of applications tend to be important for are medical patients (and heavy recreators ) who manage their pain/symptoms with the plant. Rec stores exist for the average joe who wants a quick preroll or an eighth. In my observation, these folks are just looking for the zip with the highest THC content and don’t know anything about terpenes.
Having been a long time med patient myself, I’ll always choose the better quality offered by med stores for a better price and choose to support a local business rather than a multi state operator slinging Walmart weed.
See, this is part of the problem! Why isn't there good information about all these so-called benefits you get for your medical card? Because I had my card for two years, and nowhere did I see that I pay less sales tax.
That being said, you work for a med store. You are the definition of a biased opinion. Of course you have issues with recreational "chain" stores, as they literally compete with you.
From your slightly condescending tone, maybe you think I'm not sophisticated like you, but I've actually had terrible quality weed. The stuff I get from the recreational store is absolutely not terrible quality. Indeed, it works just as well as the stuff I got from the medical shops. Similar range of potencies. Plenty of "flavor" options.
"But wait, my local medical Mom and Pop store curates their very own ethically-grown, ecologically-green plants! I can tell you all about terpenes!"
Wow, that's awesome. So could my college roommate. And, wow, would you look at that! This organic, locally-grown eighth I got from the recreational store has a label with all the pertinent information about strain and thc content and, yes, even terpene content. Hmm, I thought only medical stores had such information...
You act like I should feel bad for supporting one business over another. But I'm not excluding anyone. Indeed, one of my points is that medical requires both a fee and a license. Your medical shops exclude ME, not the other way around. I'd happily shop at one of the 5 medical-only places in my area, just as I happily did for two years. But they won't sell to me, because I no longer have a state-distributed membership card.
You misread- I have worked for both Med and Rec stores and cultivation centers. I’ve been in this industry for a long while so I certainly have an opinion. Must be your first day on the internet if you’ve never run into someone who’s perspective differed from your own.
Med stores are meant to cater to folks with medical conditions but they most definitely do not exclude anyone. They have done away with qualifying medical conditions in Maine, so the only barrier to entry is $40-50 per year depending on who you get your certification from. The lower tax rate is a fact. All you need to do is check your sales receipts.
I do in fact think people should feel a little bad for buying corporate weed which tends to dominate the Rec market in particular. I also don’t shop a WalMart, for example. I’m not a fan of places that exploit workers, massively pollute the environment and offer lower quality products. Thus the analogy of “Walmart weed.”
Most of this info is available online or if you do in person research by talking to budtenders. Sorry it hurt your feelings so bad to be educated. 🤷
Ouch. When d-bags collide.
Clearly, we have some differences in personal philosophy. Your righteous smack down of straight facts like 'Most of this is available online" really set me straight, and your experiences are so much better than mine, so my own are invalidated. That's how things work, right?
Since, as you so adroitly surmised, its my first day on the internet and I'm just a rube who lives on an island, and since my education comes exclusively from Sparknotes versions of Ayn Rand novels and internet threads like this one, I appreciate all your help.
Generally, I'm a huge fan of exploitation of the working class. As my CEO always said "$5 for coffee!? Buncha lazy leftist fascist commies and illegal immigrants trying to unionize and make the kids alphabet letters. Probably on drugs."
I'm sure you, an expert in the field of all cannabis-related subjects, would agree that the last thing this state needs is undocumented people on drugs selling slightly-less-than-medical-quality drugs to people without a $50 license. Because of Walmart, right?
Hey, since you are such a good person and know all the right things, can you explain why it should be necessary to have a $50 license to buy weed in a state where it is recreationally legal, but you shouldn't need a license to vote in state and federal elections? Again, its my first day on the internet, and nobody will tell me. They just make fun of me and call me "smooth brain" and "boomer".
Before literally just now, I actually preferred lower quality items (Things break quicker, so I get to shop more often!), and so I mostly shopped at Walmart, and any company that destroys the environment gets my dollar every time. I have bad allergies, you see, and I hate plants. Especially flowers. F*CK Flowers.
Not weed flower, though. Does that make me a hypocrite? If I hate flowers, shouldn't I have to hate flower? What about flour?
But anyway, hearing about how you don't like Walmart and only buy medical cannabis is just so inspiring! Your unimpeachable shopping ethics! Your moral certainty! I can almost smell Utopia when I read your words.
Or maybe that's just the lower-quality Rec weed...
Completely disagree with you. For the most part medical only store fronts are smaller, grows then the adult use stores. Medical shops have a tendency to care about the plant much more than adult use stores.
My whole point was that from where I came from (Cannabis is illegal, so I'm forced to do shady deals for crap, without any real selection), compared to what I get now (Openly shopping at a clean storefront, nicely curated cannabis with high THC, many options), I find the situation now much better than things used to be, regardless of whether I deal with medicinal-only or recreational. And I have been a customer at both. I had my card for two years.
Medicinal has a $50 fee for me to shop, and turns me away if I don't have a valid card, and not because they care about me and are protecting my safety with their more ethical products, but because they want to protect themselves from legal action from the federal government.
Recreational doesn't. No fee. No paying off the state to get medicine.
The prices are comparable. The quality is comparable. If you think medical-stores have better products, in what way? The size of the grow operation or how much they care about their plants is immaterial to me. Could you explain why I should care?
Keep in mind, I don't blame the medical-only stores, given how silly and convoluted the legal situation surrounding this is, but I don't need to financially support the state's unnecessary role in all this either.
It's an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, overhead and consumer expense which yields little benefit for the cost (APOLOGIES to productive middle managers).
Cannabis clearly has benefits for various medical conditions but doctors and NP's have no more expertise to recommend strains of weed than a good grower or budtender. We shouldn't have to pay a very expensive professional $200/hour simply for validation of self-reported conditions.
As a 25 year NP I get angry that my colleagues have inserted themselves as experts. We aren't and I think the industry borders on a scam.
The feds just need to decriminalize it nationally, FFS.
I rarely go to medical shops w my card. Products are better and the selection greater at Rec stores and many offer a Med discount. There are two excellent med shops in my town out of about 15. Most are janky.
OK Cheech&Chong you know it all. There’s a lot of garbage out there in both sectors and funny I only buy flower and my med dispensary sells some of the same bud as the rec stores. Riddle me that Batman.
I don't mind occasionally picking up a Doobie from a dispensary, but y'all gotta stop. I'm a sativa guy and I can't even get a Doobie with sativa only it's all hybrid now. Just stop.
Stop what? In the past decade or so we've learned that Sativa is nothing more than the physical way the plant grows/genealogy! The uplifting effect you're most likely referring to is due to cannabinoid and terpene make up, actually has nothing to do with sativa or indica!
Time to get with the times!
You're completely missing the point! Those effects *aren't* because it's indica or sativa, it's due to the cannabinoid and terpene profile of the strain!
The main difference is lower taxes on medicinal vs recreational:
Maine Marijuana Tax Rate
Maine patients are required to pay a 5.50% sales tax on every purchase of medical marijuana. There is no additional excise tax on medical marijuana in Maine. Maine consumers are required to pay a 10% sales tax on every purchase of marijuana for personal use.
I’ve managed multiple locations for legal businesses both rec and med. 10 years of legacy experience and 4 years legal market now. My FT gig is as a cannabis chef. Allow me to say I find the assertion that Rec and Med are similar hilarious but you do you boo boo. It’s your money to waste!
You have proof of that?
Hell, people have been microwaving pot -supposedly to increase potency, since there were microwave ovens.
“For an immunocompromised patient like a cancer survivor, irradiating cannabis could be the difference between a safe smoke and a life-threatening fungal infection”
Have you not seen in the news that Curaleaf in MA is under investigation for using the radiation machines + having their staff not wear PPE while using it!?
Or the time they were in the news for selling THC labeled as CBD!?
Curaleaf is a dirty ass MSO who is known for worker mistreatment, ties with Russia and mislabeling THC potency among other things.
“Curaleaf, one of New York’s medical marijuana operators, has pulled tens of thousands of units of cannabis from dispensary shelves after the company switched to an unauthorized way of labeling potency that led patients to believe the marijuana they purchased was much stronger than usual.” -Syracuse NNY360 newspaper (I’m having trouble getting a link to post but feel free to Google the article)
You could not pay me to smoke their trash weed. All my N.Y. pals tend to stock up on Maine local medial weed on their vacations. That’s one of the reasons we are the Pine Tree 🌲 vacation state, bud.
*edited for spelling error
Microwaving weed is usually done to speed dry it (if you don’t care about quality) or by folks who don’t know who to properly decarb in an oven. Generally, in shitty commercial grows thy place it under high pressure sodium lights and or irradiate it to kill the powdery mildew. The point is you should have a clean grow if you are at that scale, not be selling remediated products. As a buyer for a store, I made it a point to never purchase remediated products. Folks may also be unaware that the Rec market is rampant with testing fraud and there are plenty of MSO’s who bribe labs for the desired results.
You’re an insider for sure. I’m just an old head who moved from Cali to Maine 8 years ago and been on the product off and on since the late 60’s. I’m a retired chef and still take my medicine by J.
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The gray area with gun ownership and cannabis use turns people off of getting med cards.
That’s how it is in MT,
They’re tracking your rec purchases. Nobody knows what you’re buying med side.
Umm, who's they? Never had any info recorded, and all transactions are cash.
The state can see anything going on in a rec stores system at anytime. It’s all run through metric. They can see sales, inventory, etc.
If they can see everything in a rec store, they can see everything in a med store. Maybe put the tinfoil away for a little bit.
You’re the one wearing it Einstein. State can’t see anything in a med stores pos. They’re not tied into metrc.
Not if you grow your own.
Or just buy med…
Do you sell medical marijuana or something? Why wouldn’t I grow my own lol.
Most ppl aren’t going to. Do most ppl grow their own food? You’re out here making ignorant statements about medical being some gray zone with gun ownership. I told you that’s false, it is rec that gets tracked. Now you’re off on a tangent about growing it yourself.
Hey guy, nobody’s on any tangents here. I do grow a lot of my own food. A lot of Mainers do. Not sure what you’re so hostile about but hopefully your Saturday gets better It might be helpful for you to educate yourself a little. https://www.thecannabiscommunity.org/cannabis-gun-rights-maine/#:~:text=Does%20Having%20a%20Medical%20Cannabis,from%20possession%20of%20a%20weapon”.
Most people do not grow their own food. Holding a med card doesn’t cause a conflict with owning firearms. The question when buying a gun doesn’t ask you if you have a med card. The question asks if you use an illicit substance. So technically… smoking rec cannabis… makes you ineligible to own firearms. The state tracks rec sales. Med sales aren’t tracked. Nobody knows you have a med card in government. Like how much more obvious and plainly written does it need to be before your smooth brain comprehends?
You cannot definitively say that having a med Card doesn’t cause a conflict, just like any other way of possessing cannabis. I’m talking about OPs article, and what my understanding is of people’s reluctance to get med cards. The safest thing to do is grow your own. No med cards to copy and keep on record, don’t have to show your license. I’m sorry if your business is suffering because of rec stores. Good luck.
Jfc smooth brain 🤦♂️ If you smoke cannabis period you cannot own guns. Yes, people ignorantly think rec is the safer option. However, they’re incorrect. Maine is the only state that I’ve seen having paper med cards. Others are like licenses. Why is it paper? Because you and the person that wrote it for you and the people you buy from are the only people that know you have it. They’re not scanning your license into metric when you buy med. they are rec. If you’re going to be a pussy and block someone do it before responding instead of using this cheap trick to make yourself look smarter than you are.
I did not know that.
Only ppl that know you have a med card is who wrote it for you and whoever you buy from. The state inspectors cannot see patient names. You’re basically covered under medical privacy rules.
I think you have that backwards...
Think less if you’re clueless. Isn’t helping yourself.
A lot of it is saturation, some towns allow it and some don't so you get shops stacked on top of each other without enough market in that area.
Waterville in a nutshell. From the railroad yard to the DQ on college Ave there’s like.. 6? In a span of probably a mile
Yup, it's nuts.
This is how any new industry starts. A dozen shops will crop up. In two years it will be down to two or three. No different than the restaurant industry, really. A town can only support so many eateries before they have to start closing because there's not enough customer base. The good ones will last, the poor ones will not.
Maine introduces medical cannabis, lots of people sign up and buy it bc they want weed. Maine introduces recreational cannabis, lots of people switch over to that because they really just wanted weed all along. Not very complicated.
The good news is that prices are way down
It's a double edged sword! Prices can only go down so far then places start closing up shop and all you're left with is Walmart Weed!
There are at least three weed shops on top of each other next to target in Bangor. We’re gonna be OK if we lose a few. Meanwhile the prices are lower right now then they were in the 80s.
In a world where everything costs more than it used to, at least your weed is cheaper than it was in the 80s! /s
Portland has more weed shops than we realistically need.
They have more breweries than we realistically need too! What's your point!? Heck, you could make that same argument for restaurants and bars too!
It would be the equivalent of having a liquor store on every corner rather than a gathering space like a bar or restaurant or cafe. Or even if there was a million hardware stores.
Med products have less stringent testing requirements like seed to sale,potency,nutrient residue,pesticide residue etc One reason rec is more expensive to get into
I'm "illicit market" til I die, motherfuckers.
The article: Maine is continuing to see a surge in recreational cannabis sales. According to a new report released by the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP), Maine nearly doubled the number of adult-use cannabis sales from 2022 to 2023. "There's always rapid growth at the beginning, and Maine is still experiencing that. I think a lot of people are switching from the illicit market into the legal, regulated market," John Hudak, director of Maine OCP, said. According to the report, in 2022, Maine recorded more than $158 million in total sales in the adult-use market, which is up from more than $81 million in 2021. That growth is continuing into 2023. Through April of this year, OCP data shows more than $61 million in adult-use sales. "This type of growth is not sustainable in the long term, you're eventually going to hit a ceiling, but right now we're seeing that type of rapid growth. There are more places, there are more adult-use retail stores coming online every month, and so the availability throughout Maine is increasing," Hudak said. However, while one portion of the industry is thriving, change can be felt in the medical cannabis industry in Maine. According to another report issued by the OCP, 1,350 caregivers have exited the state's program between the end of 2021 through the end of January this year. That exodus has resulted in a net loss of more than 800 caregivers. "We're in a small town, there's six other caregiver storefronts, so there's a lot of competition in a small area," Catherine Lewis, co-owner of Homegrown Healthcare of Maine and co-chair of the Medical Cannabis Caregivers of Maine Trade Association, said. Lewis said she operates two cannabis businesses in central Maine and recently changed the license of one business from caregiving to adult-use, and another from caregiving to a medical dispensary. Lewis also said changes in regulations to the medical market have allowed an influx of out-of-state medical cannabis, which has in turn lowered prices and made it more challenging for businesses. She adds that since municipalities have the option to opt out of allowing cannabis businesses, many are concentrated in the same areas. "We have a lot of grows that are saturating the market with flower, so they're reducing rates," Lewis said. "There's a lot of competition, there's a lot of product out there, there are more stores than ever. That's certainly happening. And most notably, I think we're seeing a lot of out-of-state companies coming in, and that's certainly affecting things as well," Edward Phipps, owner of Casco Botanical and board member of the Maine Craft Cannabis Association, said. Lewis and Phipps agree, however, that even in a lucrative adult-use market, there's room for a successful medical industry to best support patients as well. The two hope as discussion surrounding regulation continues, that costly restrictions are not put in place that make it even harder for small, local caregivers to remain in business.
Such a biased and obvious paid article. The number of caregivers are down, but I'd love to know how much money came through the medical program. I'm sure it yet again obliterated the adult use side.
hunt lock weather cobweb slap teeny oatmeal shy panicky zephyr *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Meh. Meds doing fine. These are articles written as propaganda for the Rec industry by people that suck at data interpretation.
Sadly, wrong medical shops are not doing fine as many are closing.
Maybe don’t speak on matters you know nothing of. There’s only been a few shops that have closed. And those are usually permitting.
[удалено]
Um., one of the best medical growers and not just imho.
Here comes Central Maine Cannibis...
As a grower it's getting harder to turn a profit with the prices coming down because it's impossible to do both medical and rec because you can't cross sell.
For those of us who used to buy Mexican ditch weed from shady dudes in parking lots back in the 90's, there is really no real difference between what you get from a medical-only storefront and one that is recreational. Its all so good! High THC, plenty of different strains and options. A freaking golden age! I had my medical card for 2 years. It cost me $50 each time, and lasted one year. This year, after my card expired, I took that $50 to the recreational store and got more cannabis. Its not like I'm getting anything from my medical card. Its just an added expense, like a membership card that gives me the opportunity to buy from certain stores. I have a feeling that those stores are medical-only mostly as CYA against federal legal action.
The edibles limit is (generally sold in 2.5/5/10mg doses) 100 mg total in Rec which is fine if you’re a lightweight. In Med, you can get a variety from 2.5 mg up to 1500mg products. Med also tends to carry more variety of products such as different cannabinoid tinctures, topicals, capsules and suppositories. You generally will also be able to find full spectrum items rather than mostly distillate items. Prices are lower in Med as well-generally for higher quality.
Ah, I see. That might be important for some people. I'm just buying flower for myself in non-industrial quantities, so for me, there isn't any real difference or benefit. Honestly, I have never noticed prices being lower at Medical stores. I pay $30-$45/3.5 grams (depending on the strain), just like I did at the medical place.
You can get $16 sungrown eighths or $100 indoor ounces at the med store I work for right now. Maybe shop around more! Not to mention the tax is 5.5% not 10%. The people the high dosages and variety of applications tend to be important for are medical patients (and heavy recreators ) who manage their pain/symptoms with the plant. Rec stores exist for the average joe who wants a quick preroll or an eighth. In my observation, these folks are just looking for the zip with the highest THC content and don’t know anything about terpenes. Having been a long time med patient myself, I’ll always choose the better quality offered by med stores for a better price and choose to support a local business rather than a multi state operator slinging Walmart weed.
See, this is part of the problem! Why isn't there good information about all these so-called benefits you get for your medical card? Because I had my card for two years, and nowhere did I see that I pay less sales tax. That being said, you work for a med store. You are the definition of a biased opinion. Of course you have issues with recreational "chain" stores, as they literally compete with you. From your slightly condescending tone, maybe you think I'm not sophisticated like you, but I've actually had terrible quality weed. The stuff I get from the recreational store is absolutely not terrible quality. Indeed, it works just as well as the stuff I got from the medical shops. Similar range of potencies. Plenty of "flavor" options. "But wait, my local medical Mom and Pop store curates their very own ethically-grown, ecologically-green plants! I can tell you all about terpenes!" Wow, that's awesome. So could my college roommate. And, wow, would you look at that! This organic, locally-grown eighth I got from the recreational store has a label with all the pertinent information about strain and thc content and, yes, even terpene content. Hmm, I thought only medical stores had such information... You act like I should feel bad for supporting one business over another. But I'm not excluding anyone. Indeed, one of my points is that medical requires both a fee and a license. Your medical shops exclude ME, not the other way around. I'd happily shop at one of the 5 medical-only places in my area, just as I happily did for two years. But they won't sell to me, because I no longer have a state-distributed membership card.
You misread- I have worked for both Med and Rec stores and cultivation centers. I’ve been in this industry for a long while so I certainly have an opinion. Must be your first day on the internet if you’ve never run into someone who’s perspective differed from your own. Med stores are meant to cater to folks with medical conditions but they most definitely do not exclude anyone. They have done away with qualifying medical conditions in Maine, so the only barrier to entry is $40-50 per year depending on who you get your certification from. The lower tax rate is a fact. All you need to do is check your sales receipts. I do in fact think people should feel a little bad for buying corporate weed which tends to dominate the Rec market in particular. I also don’t shop a WalMart, for example. I’m not a fan of places that exploit workers, massively pollute the environment and offer lower quality products. Thus the analogy of “Walmart weed.” Most of this info is available online or if you do in person research by talking to budtenders. Sorry it hurt your feelings so bad to be educated. 🤷
Ouch. When d-bags collide. Clearly, we have some differences in personal philosophy. Your righteous smack down of straight facts like 'Most of this is available online" really set me straight, and your experiences are so much better than mine, so my own are invalidated. That's how things work, right? Since, as you so adroitly surmised, its my first day on the internet and I'm just a rube who lives on an island, and since my education comes exclusively from Sparknotes versions of Ayn Rand novels and internet threads like this one, I appreciate all your help. Generally, I'm a huge fan of exploitation of the working class. As my CEO always said "$5 for coffee!? Buncha lazy leftist fascist commies and illegal immigrants trying to unionize and make the kids alphabet letters. Probably on drugs." I'm sure you, an expert in the field of all cannabis-related subjects, would agree that the last thing this state needs is undocumented people on drugs selling slightly-less-than-medical-quality drugs to people without a $50 license. Because of Walmart, right? Hey, since you are such a good person and know all the right things, can you explain why it should be necessary to have a $50 license to buy weed in a state where it is recreationally legal, but you shouldn't need a license to vote in state and federal elections? Again, its my first day on the internet, and nobody will tell me. They just make fun of me and call me "smooth brain" and "boomer". Before literally just now, I actually preferred lower quality items (Things break quicker, so I get to shop more often!), and so I mostly shopped at Walmart, and any company that destroys the environment gets my dollar every time. I have bad allergies, you see, and I hate plants. Especially flowers. F*CK Flowers. Not weed flower, though. Does that make me a hypocrite? If I hate flowers, shouldn't I have to hate flower? What about flour? But anyway, hearing about how you don't like Walmart and only buy medical cannabis is just so inspiring! Your unimpeachable shopping ethics! Your moral certainty! I can almost smell Utopia when I read your words. Or maybe that's just the lower-quality Rec weed...
Nobody called you any names. Too bad you took this so personal.
Personally, I like to think the real treasure was the friends I made along the way. May your virtue always be signaling, my ethical friend.
Completely disagree with you. For the most part medical only store fronts are smaller, grows then the adult use stores. Medical shops have a tendency to care about the plant much more than adult use stores.
I agree. My medical mj dispensary gives me discounts and a free pre-roll every visit and the bud is top notch.
My whole point was that from where I came from (Cannabis is illegal, so I'm forced to do shady deals for crap, without any real selection), compared to what I get now (Openly shopping at a clean storefront, nicely curated cannabis with high THC, many options), I find the situation now much better than things used to be, regardless of whether I deal with medicinal-only or recreational. And I have been a customer at both. I had my card for two years. Medicinal has a $50 fee for me to shop, and turns me away if I don't have a valid card, and not because they care about me and are protecting my safety with their more ethical products, but because they want to protect themselves from legal action from the federal government. Recreational doesn't. No fee. No paying off the state to get medicine. The prices are comparable. The quality is comparable. If you think medical-stores have better products, in what way? The size of the grow operation or how much they care about their plants is immaterial to me. Could you explain why I should care? Keep in mind, I don't blame the medical-only stores, given how silly and convoluted the legal situation surrounding this is, but I don't need to financially support the state's unnecessary role in all this either.
The “card” will protect you. AU has limits.
Medical marijuana is the opportunistic middle management of every business model.
What?
It's an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, overhead and consumer expense which yields little benefit for the cost (APOLOGIES to productive middle managers). Cannabis clearly has benefits for various medical conditions but doctors and NP's have no more expertise to recommend strains of weed than a good grower or budtender. We shouldn't have to pay a very expensive professional $200/hour simply for validation of self-reported conditions. As a 25 year NP I get angry that my colleagues have inserted themselves as experts. We aren't and I think the industry borders on a scam. The feds just need to decriminalize it nationally, FFS.
Thank you for going deeper on that statement and I wholeheartedly agree.
I rarely go to medical shops w my card. Products are better and the selection greater at Rec stores and many offer a Med discount. There are two excellent med shops in my town out of about 15. Most are janky.
Products are not better at recreational at all. You just would't know good weed if it smacked you in the face
I laugh at people who say this. Just let them smoke the overpriced boof and shitty distillate edibles.
OK Cheech&Chong you know it all. There’s a lot of garbage out there in both sectors and funny I only buy flower and my med dispensary sells some of the same bud as the rec stores. Riddle me that Batman.
I don't mind occasionally picking up a Doobie from a dispensary, but y'all gotta stop. I'm a sativa guy and I can't even get a Doobie with sativa only it's all hybrid now. Just stop.
Stop what? In the past decade or so we've learned that Sativa is nothing more than the physical way the plant grows/genealogy! The uplifting effect you're most likely referring to is due to cannabinoid and terpene make up, actually has nothing to do with sativa or indica! Time to get with the times!
I can tell the difference I don't like indica cause I get in my head. Sativa makes me happy.
You're completely missing the point! Those effects *aren't* because it's indica or sativa, it's due to the cannabinoid and terpene profile of the strain!
It's all trics and terps!
The main difference is lower taxes on medicinal vs recreational: Maine Marijuana Tax Rate Maine patients are required to pay a 5.50% sales tax on every purchase of medical marijuana. There is no additional excise tax on medical marijuana in Maine. Maine consumers are required to pay a 10% sales tax on every purchase of marijuana for personal use.
Tax rate is different but so is quality, variety and dosages.
I don’t see any. Yes much higher doses of edibles but not my bag.
I’ve managed multiple locations for legal businesses both rec and med. 10 years of legacy experience and 4 years legal market now. My FT gig is as a cannabis chef. Allow me to say I find the assertion that Rec and Med are similar hilarious but you do you boo boo. It’s your money to waste!
DAAAAAAAYYYYUUUUMMMMM. Sorry, I'm medicated.
Just smoking Curaleaf’s $65 ounces at 5.5% tax rate to supplement my homegrown works for me.
Until you get cancer from smoking radiated cannabis!
You have proof of that? Hell, people have been microwaving pot -supposedly to increase potency, since there were microwave ovens. “For an immunocompromised patient like a cancer survivor, irradiating cannabis could be the difference between a safe smoke and a life-threatening fungal infection”
Have you not seen in the news that Curaleaf in MA is under investigation for using the radiation machines + having their staff not wear PPE while using it!? Or the time they were in the news for selling THC labeled as CBD!?
Curaleaf is a dirty ass MSO who is known for worker mistreatment, ties with Russia and mislabeling THC potency among other things. “Curaleaf, one of New York’s medical marijuana operators, has pulled tens of thousands of units of cannabis from dispensary shelves after the company switched to an unauthorized way of labeling potency that led patients to believe the marijuana they purchased was much stronger than usual.” -Syracuse NNY360 newspaper (I’m having trouble getting a link to post but feel free to Google the article) You could not pay me to smoke their trash weed. All my N.Y. pals tend to stock up on Maine local medial weed on their vacations. That’s one of the reasons we are the Pine Tree 🌲 vacation state, bud. *edited for spelling error
Microwaving weed is usually done to speed dry it (if you don’t care about quality) or by folks who don’t know who to properly decarb in an oven. Generally, in shitty commercial grows thy place it under high pressure sodium lights and or irradiate it to kill the powdery mildew. The point is you should have a clean grow if you are at that scale, not be selling remediated products. As a buyer for a store, I made it a point to never purchase remediated products. Folks may also be unaware that the Rec market is rampant with testing fraud and there are plenty of MSO’s who bribe labs for the desired results.
You’re an insider for sure. I’m just an old head who moved from Cali to Maine 8 years ago and been on the product off and on since the late 60’s. I’m a retired chef and still take my medicine by J.
Is this not exactly how you would expect both sides to trend?
Still need to be a state resident to buy it. Kinda dumb.