In an effort to adopt testing and tracking requirements for medical cannabis, lawmakers are trying to strike a balance between protecting consumers without bankrupting growers — a goal the industry said current proposals haven't yet nailed.
Some legislators want to essentially adopt the rules of the recreational program, while other lawmakers, as well as growers, say doing that would make the small and organic operations that make Maine's industry unique no longer viable.
The recreational program relies on "batch testing," where quantities of harvested or manufactured cannabis products are sampled before they can be sold. In contrast, others are advocating for "audit testing," the random testing of products already on shelves.
"Don't pass this version of testing that would put us all out of business," said Lizzy Hayes, an organic farmer and medical cannabis caregiver, the term for anyone licensed to grow and sell medical cannabis. "Just do audit testing to identify concerns and make sure that bad actors aren't in the program."
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