HOULTON, Maine — Town councilors opted Monday not to place a referendum question before voters to decide whether or not to allow medical marijuana retail stores or manufacturing facilities to operate in the community.
They instead will hold a special meeting in the coming weeks to gather more information about the issue, they decided during their April 8 regular meeting.
The issue involving whether to allow medical marijuaua retail stores has been festering for months.
The state Legislature last session enacted amendments to Maine’s medical marijuana law that, among other things, remove the cap on how much cannabis can be sold in medical marijuana dispensaries and allow registered marijuana caregivers to open up storefronts to serve their patients who are in the state-approved medical marijuana program.
The law also now specifically gives municipalities the right to regulate such marijuana facilities, but the town’s existing ordinances do not provide an adequate mechanism to regulate and control their location and operation.
Houlton councilors voted on Dec. 26, 2018, to establish a 180-day moratorium on medical marijuana retail stores, dispensaries, and testing and manufacturing facilities to give the town time to address the changes in the state medical marijuana law.
Tortello, who also serves on the planning board charged with recommending new local regulations, told councilors at a previous meeting that the board needed the council’s decision on whether to allow the operation of such marijuana establishments in Houlton.
Under the law, the default is that such operations are not allowed unless the municipality votes to “opt in” or allow registered caregiver retail stores, registered dispensaries, testing facilities and manufacturing facilities in town.
“The default position,” she told councilors, “is that if you do nothing, new uses are prohibited. These establishments won’t be allowed unless we vote as a legislative body to opt in.”
Residents of Houlton already voted in November 2017 to prohibit the sale and growth of recreational marijuana in town, but that vote does not affect medical marijuana growers or dispensaries.
During the Monday evening meeting, Councilor Joe McKenna said he believed that the council had been elected to make decisions for the voters and that if they didn’t take action, they would be sending the message that they didn’t want to touch anything controversial.
“I think that’s the wrong message,” he said. “I think we make a stand, right, wrong or indifferent.”
He said that if the residents didn’t agree with the decision, they could address it through the referendum process.
Councilor Chris Robinson said he agreed with that stance.
But Councilor Sue Tortello said she strongly disagreed and wanted to put the issue out to the voters.
“I think letting the voters decide on this issue is the fairest way to do it,” she said. “I think it is a very emotional issue and its one that people feel very strongly about. The only fair way to know how the town feels collectively about it is to let them express their opinion.”
Tortello was the only councilor to vote in favor of sending it to the voters. Council William McCluskey abstained.
In the end, however, the councilors agreed to gather more information on the matter and hold a workshop to make a decision down the road. No date was immediately scheduled.
