Maine Lawmakers Vote To Investigate Possible Conflict Of Interest By Top Marijuana Official

“Members were particularly interested in a potential conflict of interest Boyer raised with John Hudak, the director of the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy.”

By AnnMarie Hilton, Maine Morning Star

Maine’s legislative watchdog decided Friday on the next areas of policy and government it would like to investigate.

The Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee heard a handful of proposals from lawmakers seeking to have the group look into cannabis policy, election integrity, a home energy assistance program and the state-owned landfill.

Senate chair Craig Hickman (D-Kennebec) took time during the meeting to read the portion of Maine statute that outlines the purview of the committee and its adjoining agency that completes the investigations, the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA).

It reads that the entities are tasked with providing program evaluations of agencies and state government, and when determined necessary by the committee local and municipal governments, as well as other quasi- and smaller government-like agencies. They can also review spending and contracts.

For much of the last year, the oversight committee has spent its energy looking into the state’s embattled child welfare system. That work resulted in more than two dozen suggested reforms for the Office of Child and Family Services.

After several hours of discussion, the committee decided to explore some of the questions raised about cannabis policy and the state-owned landfill. Due to some members being absent, it is not yet decided what action it will take on election integrity, as it divided the committee that has equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans.

The committee also heard a report on staffing and safety concerns at two psychiatric centers in the state: Dorothea Dix in Bangor and Riverview in Augusta. The committee decided it needs more time to review the preliminary information gathered by OPEGA staff before determining its next steps, but Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot) suggested the committee hold a public hearing to give hospital staff the chance to speak before the committee.

Cannabis policy 

Rep. David Boyer (R-Poland) presented a three-pronged proposal for the committee to look into various aspects of cannabis policy.

The first part of his request centered around the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services failing to present a statutorily required report to the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee earlier this year. While members of the oversight committee agreed this was a problem, several of them said the issue could be handled by the policy committee.

However, the watchdog members were particularly interested in a potential conflict of interest Boyer raised with John Hudak, the director of the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy.

The final piece of Boyer’s request centered on illicit cannabis operations in the state, but there was a sentiment among members that such instances would be more appropriate for law enforcement than the committee.

The oversight committee decided to ask OPEGA to look into the possible conflict of interest, with the understanding that the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee would continue working on the other areas of concern Boyer presented.

This story was first published by Maine Morning Star.

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Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.