NEW LIMERICK, Maine — Residents of New Limerick will vote next month on whether they want to welcome retail marijuana businesses into their town.
A special referendum, scheduled for Tuesday, June 13, would allow voters to weigh in on an ordinance designed to prohibit all retail recreational marijuana establishments as defined by the state. This would include stores, cultivation and manufacturing facilities, as well as, marijuana social clubs.
Even though a statewide, citizen-led referendum made recreational marijuana legal last year, no related businesses can officially open at least until February 2018 while the state develops rules to implement the law. Possessing and growing marijuana for recreational use now is legal, but buying or selling it is not until the new regulations are implemented.
While the rules are being created, municipalities around the region are working to develop their own response to the law.
At a May 9 public hearing, Town Manager Judy Nightingale noted that New Limerick’s ordinance would not prohibit interested growers from trying their hand at industrial hemp. It also wouldn’t apply to medical marijuana growers, since they are regulated by the state.
“After a lot of research, this is the ordinance we have to present,” explained Nightingale. “The selectmen have reviewed it and … decided to have a referendum vote.”
Nightingale went on to explain that since the ordinance is designed to prohibit retail establishments in New Limerick, anyone who is in support of that effort should mark their ballot with a “Yes.” Anyone who would like to see retail marijuana in New Limerick should vote “No.”
“Basically, on this one, if you don’t want it, vote ‘yes.’ If you want it, the answer is ‘no,’” added Nightingale.
Although attendance at the public hearing was meager, those who did attend seemed to favor the ordinance, which isn’t surprising given last year’s voting tallies in the community. In November 2016 when Maine voted to legalize marijuana, New Limerick residents voted against the measure: 252 to 93.
New Limerick is by no means the first town to weigh in on the issue.
In February, Houlton took a proactive approach to the issue, welcoming marijuana retailers with its ordinance; no other towns in the County have followed suit.
An informal poll showed that other area towns have had varying degrees of response to the issue. Linneus and Littleton have both adopted ordinances to ban retail marijuana businesses within town limits. Most other towns contacted have either discussed implementing a similar ordinance or have a discussion upcoming within the next few weeks.
