ELLSWORTH — There’s a market for medical marijuana and potentially adult use marijuana in Hancock County’s unorganized territories, according to testimony from three residents at a virtual public hearing the Hancock County Commissioners held via Zoom on Tuesday.
Unorganized territories Supervisor Millard Billings summed up Maine’s marijuana laws as “quite confusing.”
Municipalities have to “opt in” to allow marijuana businesses, whether medical or commercial, and so do Maine counties. And then there are decisions pertaining to which types of commercial marijuana businesses will be allowed — will a town, city or county allow retail marijuana establishments or cultivation or testing or processing or any or all of those that fall under the commercial marijuana umbrella.
“When you opt in, you have to opt in for one township or all 15 plus the offshore islands in each of these four different categories, and then the same with medical use,” Billings told the board. “It gets very complicated and confusing.”
One of the commissioners asked about permitting in each township should Hancock County opt in.
“If the commission opts in, all the rest of applications go before LUPC [Land Use and Planning Commission] staff,” Billings said. “It will either be approved or sent before the LUPC commissioners, but it gets very…
