Guidance issued for advertising marijuana products in Maine

Maine’s Office of Marijuana Policy warns that advertising for medical- or adult-use marijuana businesses should not target people under age 21.

Maine’s Office of Marijuana Policy issued guidance Friday on how to advertise medical- and adult-use marijuana businesses without breaking state laws.

The office issued the guidance after looking into concerns raised about marijuana-related advertising displayed at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston.

The ads, some of which featured colorful images of cannabis leaves and fruit, drew complaints from parents whose children play sports or attend events at the ice arena.

Maine’s marijuana laws prohibit advertising that will reach or are designed to appeal to people who are under age 21 – the legal age to consume recreational marijuana products.

“OMP’s main concern and focus of this guidance is whether advertisements have a high likelihood of reaching, or are designed to appeal to, individuals less than 21 years of age,” Director Erik Gundersen wrote in a letter posted Friday afternoon on the agency’s website.

Gundersen targeted the guidance to registrants in the Maine Medical Use Marijuana Program and licensees in the Maine Adult Use Marijuana Program. OMP is preparing for the adult-use market to open this spring, more than three years after Maine voters legalized recreational use in November 2016. [Read more at Portland Press Herald]