HOULTON, Maine – Anyone interested in applying for an adult use cannabis business license in the Aroostook County Unorganized Territories is going to have to do some work.
Applicants must first submit a petition to the county with signatures from at least 20 percent of the voting population in the township the business will be located in, according to new rules set by commissioners on Wednesday during their regular monthly meeting.
“This lays out rules for anyone wanting us to consider an opt-in vote,” said County Administrator Ryan Pelletier, adding that very small townships must have signatures from 50 percent of the voters.
According to the new rules, once the petition signatures are verified, a referendum question will go on the next year or primary election ballot, asking voters if they wish to opt-in.
To opt-in means that a municipality changes existing ordinances or regulations to allow the sale of cannabis products.
When the majority of voters approve the referendum question to opt-in, the application goes back to the commissioners for a formal opt-in vote.
If approved, a license is issued to the applicant. There is a $500 license fee and renewals are $100, according to the County rules. Similar to liquor licenses, there will be a public hearing when the license is issued.
Each cannabis business – retail, cultivation, manufacturing and testing – must have its own license, the County rules say.
Pelletier said that at this time no one has come forward about adult cannabis licensing but they wanted to get ahead of it.
