For the first time, medical marijuana users in the Midcoast are able to purchase cannabis without cash.
The Wellness Connection of Maine, a nonprofit which operates four out of the eight regional medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, has introduced a new mobile app to their facilities to allow a safer, more convenient way to pay for their products. The app, CanPay, connects to users’ checking accounts and produces a single-use bar code for any transaction. It’s the first app for the cannabis industry of its kind.
“It’s credit card processors who do not want to operate with the cannabis industry due to our federal status,” said Wellness Connection CEO Patricia Rosi. “All the classic credit cards are not something we can use, so therefore we are a cash business only.”
“Federal law still says that marijuana is a Schedule 1 substance with no medicinal or therapeutic value on par with hard drugs like heroin,” said David Boyer, Maine political director for the Marijuana Policy Project.
That classification has serious implications for marijuana-related businesses.
“So that classification means a lot of banks won’t touch it,” said Boyer. “They’re worried about the federal intervention. They could be breaking the law by helping us.
“Again, medical marijuana is still 100 percent federally illegal, and at any moment the feds could come in and shut down Maine’s medical marijuana program,” he added.
Boyer said that while that is a highly unlikely scenario, the inherent uncertainty in the industry still causes many financial institutions to hesitate before engaging with marijuana-related businesses.
“This is why we are very excited to be able to offer CanPay as an alternative payment method … which is safer and easier for our patients,” said Rosi.
CanPay bypasses the risk-adverse credit card processors who do not want to be involved in marijuana-related businesses by directly connecting to users’ checking accounts.
“From a consumer experience, it works very simply. It’s an app that you download. You can set up your account in the privacy of your home if you choose,” said Rosi. “When the time comes to make a purchase, you pay via your app, which generates a unique bar code which we scan and it rings in your purchase.”
The bar code disappears after 30 minutes for security reasons.
Wellness Connection introduced Can- Pay at its Portland dispensary last month, but has since expanded to their three other locations, including Bath.
“We have deployed this in all of our facilities,” said Rosi. “We started in Portland as a test if you will, and the acceptance rate was so good and people really adopted this very quickly, so it’s already offered now in our four locations.”
The Wellness Connection has locations in Bath, Portland, Gardiner and Brewer.
nstrout@timesrecord.com
Mobile app
• THE WELLNESS CONNECTION of Maine has introduced a new mobile app to their facilities to allow a safer, more convenient way to pay for their products. The app, CanPay, connects to users’ checking accounts and produces a single-use bar code for any transaction.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less