PORTLAND (AP) — The head of Maine’s medical marijuana program is out of a job.
John Thiele, who headed the program within the Department of Health and Human Services, told attendees at a Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine event Friday that he had been let go.
Rep. Mark Dion, who worked with Thiele as a lawmaker and a lawyer who represents medical marijuana caregivers, told the Portland Press Herald he was surprised by Thiele’s dismissal, but said some people in the department thought Thiele was acting more like a social worker than a regulator.
Thiele did not return phone calls to the paper seeking comment.
Maine voters legalized marijuana for medical uses in 1999. In 2009, they approved a law creating a network of marijuana dispensaries around the state.
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