A Republican member of Maine’s House of Representatives has attempted to remove the state’s top marijuana regulator. He claims that Office of Cannabis Policy Director John Hudak “unfairly” and “unjustly” executes state law.
David Boyer, a Republican Representative, said that under Hudak, OCP has applied regulations inconsistently, imposed steep licensing fees and penalties on licensed businesses, and sometimes retaliated towards operators who raised concerns.
Boyer said Hudak, a former Brookings Institution Fellow who focused on marijuana in the think tank, also has conflicts of interests that disqualify him for certain matters.
A petition is being circulated online by the lawmaker urging Gov. Janet Mills’ (D) goal is to “promptly terminate Director Hudak, and appoint a person who will be a strong advocate for Maine’s small businesses rather than against them.”
Boyer posted on social media that he was causing “good trouble” over the weekend.
Boyer reported that more than 600 people signed the petition by Monday afternoon. Some of those who signed it left comments about their negative experiences with OCP.
Marijuana Moment asked for comments from Hudak and an OCP representative. The governor’s office did not respond.
Boyer wrote on Facebook that “OCP is completely out of control.” “Making the law up as they go and preying on caregivers, businesses and those who don’t understand the law or are too intimidated to fight back.”
Boyer told Hudak, “He’s not from Maine!” “Enough!”
Boyer, who ran the successful ballot campaigns that led to the state’s legalization of cannabis before he entered public office and worked for the Marijuana Policy Project as a staffer at the Marijuana Policy Project in the beginning he thought if Hudak became director in December 2022 he would be able to “work collaboratively with OCP” on regulation.
Boyer said in an interview with Marijuana Moment that Hudak’s approach was not what he expected during a meeting.
Boyer stated that “one of the things he discussed in that meeting was getting Maine prepared for federal legalization.” He clarified his position since. He has talked about Maine becoming an importer of cannabis.”
Boyer believes that Hudak’s role as Maine’s top cannabis regulator is undermined by positioning Maine as an importer rather than as a producer of marijuana.
The lawmaker stated that it was unworthy of him to suggest that they would buy their weed elsewhere.
Boyer alleges Hudak also has a conflict as the self described co-founder of Freedman and Koski – a consulting firm that was hired by the state to help create rules for legal marijuana.
Boyer stated that an activist had asked him about this at a local listening event a few months back, and Hudak replied by saying he was a consultant. Hudak is listed as a founder on his own LinkedIn page.
Lewis Koski is the Chief Strategy Officer for Metrc, a cannabis seed-to sale software company. He works at Freedman and Koski. Boyer stated that Metrc initially lost the bid to BioTrack for Maine’s Track-and-Trace system, but Metrc won after the applications were scored again.
Boyer stated that Hudak, given his connections to Koski, should have recused him. Boyer said that instead, the lawmaker claimed that he assisted in the negotiation of the contract.
Boyer asked, “How can we ensure Mainers received the best deal when he’s negotiating with his former cofounder across the table?”
The lawmaker said, “I think that he should have recused him because this deal did not work out well for us.”
Boyer claims that OCP investigators applied rules inconsistently to licensed businesses. They have also retaliated against operators who raised concerns about the approach of the office.
He said that a business selling edibles, for instance, had been told its universal warning labels on gummies were illegible, even though similar products from other businesses were approved.
Boyer explained that OCP was willing to compromise as Boyer and his colleagues were drafting a bill to clarify it is not feasible to label gummies directly (alongside products such as popcorn and chips). The next day, however, the office sent an official notice to the gummies producer stating that his products were not in compliance.
A second business was flagged because its product label included a picture of human hands. Boyer clarified that this was a mistake, as the rule only applies to products for adult use, while the company in question sold medical marijuana.
Boyer, when asked if he had heard anything about the petition, from Hudak or OCP, said that there hasn’t been any response.
He said: “I haven’t heard from her, but I imagine that she knows what her Commissioners are doing and that her Commissioners are giving direction to directors like Hudak.”
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Mills, along with other GOP leaders in Maine, are opposed to a bill decriminalizing drugs that was introduced during the current session. They claim it will worsen Maine’s overdose crisis.
Last month lawmakers discussed a narrower version of a bill which would legalize psilocybin . This would allow adults to access this psychedelic in licensed facilities, while ending criminalization for personal use and possession.
The changes proposed by Maine’s House Speaker last month would try to help equity businesses and remove licensing restrictions on applicants with previous drug charges.
Separately, a Senate committee rejected last month a bill that would have removed marijuana from the state criminal code. This included a repeal of mandatory sentences for certain actions involving illegal amounts of cannabis. The bill would also have required the automatic expungement of previous marijuana convictions.
Maine’s legal marijuana market has experienced record sales in the last few months. The governor also signed a bill into law last year that provides tax relief to the state marijuana industry.
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The post Maine lawmaker pushes governor to fire state’s top marijuana regulator appeared initially on Marijuana Moment.
