HOULTON, Maine — Houlton voters will be asked to weigh-in on one of the most volatile and contentious issues facing the community in many years when they go to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Two citizen-led initiatives regarding recreational marijuana resulted in two local questions being placed on the ballot for Houlton voters.
Question one asks voters if they wish to repeal a July 24 ordinance that regulates where recreational marijuana growing facilities and businesses can operate within the town.
Question two asks if voters wish to prohibit retail marijuana establishments in the community.
A “yes” vote on question one would simply force the town to revert to an earlier ordinance, adopted in February, which contained numerous errors and blank spaces to be filled in later.
A “yes” vote on question two would make it illegal to operate a recreational marijuana business within the town. It would not impact medical marijuana or prevent individuals from growing pot for personal use.
Bill McCluskey, a medical marijuana grower in Houlton and chairman of the Houlton Town Council, said repealing the town’s ordinance (question one) would be a bad move for the town.
“The old ordinance was horrible,” he said. “It was ill-conceived and spoke mostly about medical marijuana dispensaries. The new ordinance only allows for specific places at the airport for cultivation, testing, processing or manufacturing. There won’t be stores downtown.”
McCluskey added he was not speaking on behalf of the town council and said his opinions on the subject were his own and not representative of the council’s views.
Houlton resident Joan Barton, one of the organizers of the citizens initiatives that put the questions on the ballot, called the ordinance a “muddled mess.”
“Question one will really be a non-issue because question two got on the ballot,” she said. “The citizens against recreational marijuana don’t want an ordinance at all. We want to prohibit those businesses in Houlton and that is what question two does.”
Barton, who has been employed in the pharmaceutical business for more than 20 years as a regulatory affairs consultant and as a medical writer, said both questions are messages of displeasure with the current town council for ignoring the voters of Houlton.
In November, Houlton residents opposed legalizing recreational marijuana by a vote of 1,762 opposed and 935 in favor.
“We are not happy with them (councilors) ignoring the November 2016 vote,” Barton said. “They went ahead and passed an ordinance anyway. We are hopeful the same percentage of voters will come out to let the council know they are not interested in marijuana here in Houlton.”
Regarding question two, McCluskey said prohibiting recreational retail marijuana would have an adverse impact on the town and make it difficult for police to enforce.
“If a municipality chooses to prohibit retail cannabis sales, cultivation, manufacturing, processing and testing, the only avenue law enforcement has for enforcement is to investigate any reports of illegal activities, conduct an investigation, write a report and submit it to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Lottery Operations,” McCluskey said. “Then (they must) wait for an official from the bureau to show up and investigate the alleged illegal activities.”
He said prohibition would likely lead to a black market boom as growers try to exploit loopholes in the town’s prohibition stance.
If Houlton allows recreational marijuana facilities, McCluskey said the municipality would have a greater ability to control these activities because any potential business would need both a state and municipal license to open.
“I don’t think $3.5 million in gross (state) sales is a crazy number,” he said. “We will get 10 percent of that back in direct tax. Then there is the money from the sale of land (at the airport) and property taxes. I would love to see the mill rate go down, but I would be thrilled if we could hold it where it is.”
He said the town has done an admirable job holding the mill rate steady for the past few years, by being creative with the town’s tax increment financing accounts. But that creativity can only last so long, he added.
For those opposed, the issue is based more on the morality of marijuana use and the message it sends to children. Barton said her group was not opposed to medical marijuana.
“My issues are our youth, our business environment and quality of life,” she said. “The more we make it (marijuana) normal, the more we place our youth at risk. They begin to think it is a safe drug. There is plenty of evidence that says when youth start using marijuana at a young age, it impairs their short time memory and impairs their ability to learn.”
Having adults with impaired motor skills both on the job and behind the wheel of vehicles are another concern, she added. By having stores where adults 21-and-older can purchase marijuana, Barton said it normalizes its use.
“The more we see people using it, the more people will think it is safe, and it’s not,” she said. “To me that risk is not worth it. I don’t think we should be basing our economic health on it.”
