Freeport Town Council on Tuesday could decide to allow some marijuana businesses in town.
While marijuana is legal in Maine, municipalities must opt-in and individually set rules regulating cannabis, which Freeport has not done.
According to Freeport Town Council Chair John Egan, councilors will discuss whether to allow marijuana cultivation and manufacturing in town, at the recommendation of the ordinance committee. The committee is not recommending the town allow retail sales.
Egan said that while the language does not specify between recreational and medicinal, the potential policies would effectively allow both.
In December, the Portland Press Herald reported that marijuana is Maine’s most valuable crop, reporting that 2020 sales totaled $266.2 million, up from $109.2 million in 2019.
For comparison, in 2019 total sales for potatoes — a crop often associated with Maine — came in at $184.1 million.
If councilors decide to opt-in, there would be an official vote on Aug. 3 to send the rules to the planning board, which would come back to the council for final approval.
“They’ll be at least one if not several public hearings later this fall on the issue,” Egan said. “This isn’t going to take effect real soon, but it is, you know, moving forward.”
The conversation about establishing rules for marijuana in Freeport was reintroduced to the council in March by the owners of the two medical marijuana growing facilities in the town. The council also…
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Freeport Town Council on Tuesday could decide to allow some marijuana businesses in town.
While marijuana is legal in Maine, municipalities must opt-in and individually set rules regulating cannabis, which Freeport has not done.
According to Freeport Town Council Chair John Egan, councilors will discuss whether to allow marijuana cultivation and manufacturing in town, at the recommendation of the ordinance committee. The committee is not recommending the town allow retail sales.
Egan said that while the language does not specify between recreational and medicinal, the potential policies would effectively allow both.
In December, the Portland Press Herald reported that marijuana is Maine’s most valuable crop, reporting that 2020 sales totaled $266.2 million, up from $109.2 million in 2019.
For comparison, in 2019 total sales for potatoes — a crop often associated with Maine — came in at $184.1 million.
If councilors decide to opt-in, there would be an official vote on Aug. 3 to send the rules to the planning board, which would come back to the council for final approval.
“They’ll be at least one if not several public hearings later this fall on the issue,” Egan said. “This isn’t going to take effect real soon, but it is, you know, moving forward.”
The conversation about establishing rules for marijuana in Freeport was reintroduced to the council in March by the owners of the two medical marijuana growing facilities in the town. The council also…
