Maine’s largest medical marijuana dispensary group asks to join residency lawsuit

Wellness Connection, which owns four of eight licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Maine, filed a motion on Thursday to fight a lawsuit against the state from two small marijuana businesses over recreational cannabis licenses granted to businesses with some out-of-state ownership.

It is the latest legal salvo in the recreational marijuana market that launched on Oct. 9 in Maine and is expected to soon eclipse the size of the medical marijuana market. Portland marijuana consultancy Nucleus One projects sales for the legal medical and recreational markets will total $76 million this year in Maine, with adult-use making up $20 million of that.

Much more money will be at stake with sales expected to almost quadruple to $295 million by 2025, when adult-use is projected to dominate the market with $265 million in sales. Cottage industries including tourism and professional services are also growing up around the cannabis business.

In March, Wellness Connection sued the state over a law trying to limit marijuana businesses such as itself with out-of-state owners, but the case was dropped after the state said it would not enforce the residency requirement because it likely would not hold up in court. [Read more at Bangor Daily News]