Supporting Maine's Cannabis Economy

Maine’s Congressional Delegation is pushing the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to shut down illegally operated Chinese marijuana growing operations in Maine. In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, and Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden ask the DOJ to address the illegal growing operations run by foreign governments or… Read more »

Today, senior House Agriculture Committee member Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, alongside Representatives David Trone (D-Md.), David Joyce (R-Ohio), and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), introduced bipartisan legislation to end the unfair drug felony prohibition for hemp farmers. The Free to Grow Act aims would expand economic opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals. “While… Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and the U.S. House of Representatives passed one of the most comprehensive marijuana reform bills ever introduced in the U.S. Congress. The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level and aims to correct the historical injustices of failed drug policies that have… Read more »

WASHINGTON, DC—Today Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) introduced the Hemp Advancement Act of 2022 to improve the 2018 Farm Bill’s hemp provisions and provide greater clarity and flexibility to hemp growers and processors. While hemp production was federally legalized by the 2018 Farm Bill, red tape and regulatory uncertainty has hindered… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today joined 18 members of Congress in reintroducing the bipartisan Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act, legislation to provide a regulatory pathway for the legal sale of hemp products, including cannabidiol (CBD), as dietary supplements. Hemp production was explicitly legalized in… Read more »

Joining her U.S. House colleagues in the historic passage of the bipartisan Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, today Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) voted to decriminalize marijuana and remove federal obstacles for Maine’s burgeoning legal marijuana industry.  “The MORE Act will create new opportunities for Maine’s legal… Read more »

Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine) and Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-ME-01) and Jared Golden (D-ME-02) wrote to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), urging the agency to heed the formal comments and concerns of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry (DACF) on the interim final rule on domestic hemp production. A signed… Read more »

In response to the news that the House Judiciary Committee voted to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act on a 24-10 bipartisan vote, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) released the following statement: “Today’s vote is a historic step toward setting a federal cannabis policy that works in the 21stcentury. Eleven states including Maine have… Read more »

Responding to news reports that Maine hemp farmers have lost access to federal banking and insurance due to opaque regulations, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-01) and Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) have written to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and urged him to expedite the review process and establish hemp rules as required by the Agriculture Improvement Act of… Read more »

Last night, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) spoke on the US House floor in support of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act (HR 1595), the first legislation approved by the House to permit federally-insured financial institutions to work with marijuana-related businesses in states where the sale of cannabis is legal. Pingree is an original… Read more »