Maine voters legalized cannabis in 2016 after approving Question 1. Since then, the state has grown a robust industry and culture. Over the last year, municipalities and the state have been embroiled in a battle against unlicensed cannabis cultivation operations.
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The feds are even in on the operation, busting grow houses with international ties believed to be involved in human trafficking. Allegations continue to come out as regulators and law enforcement search for new ways to identify homes being used to cultivate unregulated cannabis.
Versant Power serves 165,000 people in 10k square miles of north and eastern Maine. The company recently reported receiving 50 subpoenas for energy records connected to cannabis operations.
In a controversial move, they asked for a rule change from the Maine Public Utilities Commission to provide flagged usage records to police, citing safety as the means to forfeit a layer of personal privacy. Privacy advocates have been opposed since Versant mentioned the potential change.
All three of the commission members voted against this rule change on Tuesday.
“Customers may have other legitimate reasons for high usage, and using such broad criteria would likely result in the privacy of many innocent customers being violated,” commission chair Phil Bartlett said in the meeting.
Central Maine Power, one of the other vital energy sources in the state, has so far refused to comment on the number of cannabis cultivation subpoenas they have received. The utility company publicly debated against Versant, according to WGME13.
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A Versant spokesperson said the company will follow commission guidance and protect consumer privacy. Law enforcement can still request electricity usage reports with a valid warrant. Still, utility companies will not be tasked with providing this information unprompted.
This ruling is a win for privacy protection but not the end of the quest to halt illicit cannabis operations that are exploiting immigrants.
