Is THCA legal in Maine? Maine hemp, CBD and kratom laws

The law in Maine

Maine keeps its whole hemp law in one section of the agriculture title, 7 MRSA section 2231, which makes up chapter 406-A. It licenses growers through the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, and it defines hemp as the Cannabis sativa L. plant and its derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids and salts with no more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis, "or as otherwise defined in federal law." The definition reaches finished goods too: topical and ingestible consumer products, food included, that stay within that delta-9 line.

Hemp sits outside the cannabis programs. The criminal code's definition of marijuana in 17-A MRSA section 1101 leaves out hemp as defined in Title 7, and subsection 10 of the hemp section says hemp and hemp products may not be tracked under the medical cannabis program or the adult use cannabis law in Title 28-B. The hemp statute sets up no registry for hemp product brands; what it asks of those products is the age, packaging and label rules below.

1. March 27, 2019Public Law 2019, chapter 12 (LD 630), approved as an emergency, says hemp CBD foods are not adulterated for that reason alone.
2. July 2, 2019The Governor signs LD 1749, Public Law 2019, chapter 528, which rewrites the hemp chapter and adds the CBD food label rule.
3. June 24, 2025Public Law 2025, chapter 416 (LD 1920) becomes law without the Governor's signature and takes effect at once: age 21 and packaging rules.
4. January 13, 2026LD 1983, the Governor's bill to regulate intoxicating hemp under the adult use cannabis laws, is placed in the legislative files.
5. April 29, 2026The Legislature adjourns and LD 1942, which would have changed taxes on adult use cannabis and hemp products, dies in the Senate.
6. December 11, 2026The federal limit of 0.4 mg total THC per container begins.

THCA and delta-8

The statute's definition of hemp measures delta-9 THC, or as otherwise defined in federal law, and does not mention THCA. The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry's hemp rule, 01-001 CMR chapter 274, section I, does: it counts total THC as 0.877 times THCA plus THC, after decarboxylation, on a dry weight basis, holds hemp to 0.3 percent total THC, and requires a certificate of analysis to show delta-9 THC, THCA and total THC. So THCA counts toward Maine's hemp limit. Public Law 2025, chapter 416 added a list of "potentially intoxicating cannabinoids": delta-10, delta-9, delta-8, delta-7 and delta-6a,10a THC and their isomers, exo-THC, THC metabolites, hydrogenated forms such as HHC, synthetic forms such as dronabinol, ester forms such as THC-O acetate, varin forms other than delta-9 THCV, and THC analogs with an alkyl chain of 4 or more carbon atoms. THCA is not on it.

We found no Maine statute, Attorney General opinion or appeals court ruling on THCA flower beyond the hemp rule's total THC test.

Delta-8 is named. A product made with it falls under the 2025 rules whenever it fits the statute's definition of a potentially intoxicating hemp product, which looks at what the product's final form does not contain: a concentration under 0.3 percent of the listed cannabinoids, and a ratio above 10 to 1 of nonintoxicating cannabinoids, such as CBD, CBG and CBN, to potentially intoxicating ones. In the criminal code, Schedule Z lists tetrahydrocannabinols but excludes those contained in hemp as defined in Title 7.

1. Full Spectrum CBD TincturescbdMD$0.011/mg
2. CBD Softgels Extra StrengthNeurogan$0.013/mg
3. CBD Isolate Gummies, 150mg, LemonLazarus Naturals$0.013/mg
4. Multicannabinoid OilNuLeaf Naturals$0.028/mg
5. CBD Oils 2000 mg: UnflavoredIrwin Naturals$0.034/mg
6. CBD+Mushroom Gummies for WellnessCBDfx$0.037/mg

Age 21 and packaging

Chapter 416 was passed as an emergency measure and became law without the Governor's signature on June 24, 2025, taking effect at once. It adds subsection 12 to the hemp section: a potentially intoxicating hemp product may not be sold to a person under 21. The statute sets no milligram limit per serving or per package, and a product outside the statute's definition carries no state age limit under this section.

Subsection 13 covers the package. A potentially intoxicating hemp product that is not a beverage, salve or topical must be in child-resistant and tamper-evident packaging, and any hemp product may not be labeled or packaged in breach of federal trademark law or so that a reasonable shopper could mistake it for a different trademarked product.

CBD in food and drinks

Is CBD legal in Maine as a food ingredient? Yes. Public Law 2019, chapter 12, approved as an emergency on March 27, 2019, enacted 22 MRSA section 2158-A: food, food additives and food products with hemp, hemp CBD included, are not adulterated for that reason alone, and the state may not bar their nonpharmaceutical or nonmedical sale on that basis. Sellers may not make disease claims for them without federal approval.

Section 2157, subsection 15, added by Public Law 2019, chapter 528, sets the label. A packaged CBD food must show that it contains hemp or hemp CBD, its CBD content by weight or volume, the source of the hemp, a batch number for extracts and tinctures, and a disclosure that its safety has not been evaluated. Unpackaged CBD food needs a sign next to it or its menu listing, and the store or restaurant keeps a directory of those items for customers. Makers and sellers of ingestible hemp products need a license under the state's food, eating establishment, milk or liquor laws.

Kratom, kava, amanita and spores

We found no Maine statute that names kratom, mitragynine, kava, amanita muscaria, muscimol or mushroom spores, and none of them is listed in Schedules W through Z of 17-A MRSA section 1102. Schedule X lists psilocybin and psilocyn.

Two 2026 bills on hemp did not pass. LD 1983, a Governor's bill to regulate intoxicating hemp products under the adult use cannabis laws, was placed in the legislative files on January 13, 2026. LD 1942, which would have changed taxes on adult use cannabis, hemp and hemp products, passed the House on April 8, 2026 and died in the Senate when the Legislature adjourned on April 29.

The federal change on December 11

From December 11, 2026, the federal definition counts total THC including THCA and limits a finished hemp-derived cannabinoid product to 0.4 mg per container. Read the federal page and What's changing on December 11.