How To Buy Legal Weed In Maine

Recreational cannabis finally hit the East Coast last November, when voters in Maine and Massachusetts passed ballot measures legalizing marijuana. In Maine, however, legalization was a rocky road. Although recreational use became legal on January 30, 2017, knowing how to buy legal weed in Maine is still a bit of a challenge. This simple guide explains how to buy legal weed in Maine. Here’s a tip: you’ll need a time machine.

What To Know About Recreational Weed Laws In Maine

The law legalizing recreational marijuana use in Maine took effect in January this year. Specifically, the law allows for individuals to possess up to 2.5 ounces of dried flower. That’s quite a bit more than most states, which limit individual possession to an ounce.

You can also carry up to five grams of hash oils, and other THC concentrates. This is a guide about how to buy legal weed in Maine, not grow it, but Maine permits individuals to cultivate up to six mature (i.e. flowering) plants for personal use.

Like other weed-legal states, adults can gift cannabis to other of-age people up to the legal limit of 2.5 ounces or five grams of concentrate. As long as no money changes hands, you’re in the clear.

But the one thing that makes knowing how to buy legal weed in Maine a bit difficult is the fact that legal recreational sales won’t begin until February 2018. And that’s the earliest recreational storefronts will be able to open their doors to the public.

So if you want to buy legal weed in Maine as a recreational user, you’ll have to wait until then. Or fire up that time machine and launch yourself into the future. There is, however, a way to purchase marijuana legally in Maine. You’ll just have to be a medical marijuana patient.

Before You Leave For Maine

So you can’t buy recreational cannabis in Maine until early next year. But in states where recreational use has been legalized, you can often find a doctor who will issue a recommendation for medical marijuana.

As of 2014, any medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, or certified nurse practitioner can make a medical marijuana recommendation based on qualifying conditions. Do some research before you leave for Maine, and see if you might qualify.

There are more than 300 medical providers in Maine who can submit the documentation you need online. With the possibility of obtaining your recommendation online, it’s feasible to become a medical cannabis patient before you even arrive in Maine.

Otherwise, bring your medical documents with you when you travel to the state. They can help you obtain your recommendation when you are there.

How To Buy Legal Weed In Maine Once You Arrive

Again, you’ll have to have a medical marijuana recommendation from a doctor to buy weed legally. You will need to bring appropriate authorizing documents from another state.

But you’ll also need some kind of state ID from Maine. So if you’re just planning a short trip to weed-legal Maine, you might not be able to buy legal weed.

What To Expect At The Dispensary

Maine has had medical cannabis for a long time, and the state began selling cannabis for medical use back in 2009. Today, there’s a thriving, successful, and well-regulated medical cannabis industry in Maine.

As you might expect, Maine offers every kind of medical marijuana dispensary to suit a wide variety of care needs. If you’ve got your medical marijuana card and are visiting a dispensary in Maine for the first time, you’ll find a plethora of strain choices and cannabis products, from flower to tinctures and everything in between.

Where Can You Enjoy Your Legal Weed?

If you’ve got your hands on some legal weed through the generosity of a friend or the kindness of strangers, know that you can only consume it in a private place.

Very soon, however, cannabis social clubs will begin opening across Maine. Unlike legalization in other states, which have put the kibosh on public consumption of any kind, Maine will soon allow you to smoke cannabis anywhere you can smoke tobacco.

If the idea of a cannabis social outing appeals to you, it might be worth the wait until 2018. It’s one of the unique features of Maine’s plans for legal weed.

Final Hit: How To Buy Legal Weed In Maine

To sum it all up, here’s how to buy legal weed in Maine.

1. Wait until early 2018—February to be exact. We’ll update this guide in time for your weed vacation to Maine. Get psyched!
2. Get your medical marijuana recommendation, and buy legal weed from a dispensary.

Good things come to those who wait, right?