If adopted, the proposed amendment would create a new license for dispensary cultivation and manufacturing. Photo: Pixabay
By Renée Morin
The City Council is one step closer to amending the marijuana ordinance to allow for a new license in medical marijuana dispensary cultivation and manufacturing.
At a recent public meeting, the council presented the proposed amendments that would consolidate licenses for medical marijuana companies. This was one of two required readings of the amendments. The second one will be at the next city council meeting on June 16.
Instead of purchasing multiple medical marijuana licenses to be compliant with the law, the proposed amendment would require businesses to purchase just one license, according to Chief Code Enforcement Officer Jamie Cole. The new license would be around double the cost of the individual license, given the greater amount of time city staff would need to approve it. The council has not made any changes that affect what the ordinance currently permits, Cole said.
The public’s feedback at the meeting allows the zoning subcommittee to make any changes necessary before the second reading, which will precede the councilors’ vote on the amendments.
These amendments came out of a previous public hearing, which the Sanford Springvale News reported on in May. At that time, Elizabeth Baldacci, the owner of Blossom Cannabis and Stache Cannabis, in Biddeford and Sanford respectively, made a request for the amendments to allow her business to stay in compliance with a June 22 federal registration deadline for marijuana businesses.
During the public hearing portion of the recent meeting, Isaac Ellowitz, owner of Mill 72, a marijuana cultivation company on Emery Street, raised concerns about one amendment that appeared to contradict other wording in the ordinance. He said that the proposed text could have a negative effect on medical marijuana caregiver retail stores.
Cole said there was not a contradiction because the proposed text specifically barred caregiver retail stores under the state’s definition, which is broader than the city’s definition. The city’s definition allows for only direct sale of products to individual patients.
“I wanted specific language saying that with this clarification we are not allowing dispensary retail and we’re also not allowing caregiver retail stores.” Cole said. “We are, however, allowing our caregiver offices as we have since we adopted this ordinance,” He said the zoning subcommittee could discuss word changes at its June 9 meeting.
Cole and City Manager Steven Buck said that the proposed group of amendments were emergency measures in response to the June 22 federal deadline. They said the city will have to undertake a more comprehensive update of the city’s marijuana ordinances in the future to bring the definitions more in line with changes in the state’s definitions. The city council will vote on the amendments on June 16.
This piece was produced through the training and support of Journalism New England’s Career Lab.
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