Dispensary operator named to state cannabis board

Josh Quint, director of operations for the Biddeford-based medical marijuana firm Canuvo, will become the first grower to serve on the 15-member panel.

The director of operations at Canuvo, one of Maine’s eight state-licensed medical cannabis dispensaries, has been appointed to the Marijuana Advisory Commission and will become the first marijuana grower to sit on the 15-member panel.

Josh Quint of Bridgton was appointed by Senate President Troy Jackson as a representative of the public to fill the commission’s last vacant seat. Maine lawmakers created the panel last year to review the state’s recreational and medical marijuana laws and to recommend changes to the Legislature.

Quint has been Canuvo’s director of operations for six years, running the day-to-day operations of the Bridgton grow facility that supplies the Biddeford retail store. He deals with all aspects of the business, from designing the cultivation facility to developing products to formulating public policy.

The Minot native lobbied Jackson for the position, arguing the board needs someone with operational knowledge of how a cannabis business operates to weigh in on any proposed cannabis laws and rules, as well as recommend changes to existing laws that may not be working as planned.

Quint said he hopes to improve health and safety standards for consumers and to ensure a regulatory model that promotes Maine-owned-and-operated businesses, which has been a big issue for many in the cannabis industry that fear a takeover by out-of-state corporations.

“I hope to work with Mainers who do not approve of cannabis to find common ground on issues,” Quint said. “While I have worked hard for the last seven years to grow my business, my loyalty and interest lay with promoting the best outcomes for both consumers and non-consumers of cannabis in Maine.”