Belfast The City Council on Jan. 3 gave a final stamp of approval to a six-month moratorium on new businesses related to recreational marijuana, which was legalized by Maine voters by statewide referendum in November.
City officials say the moratorium will give them time to time understand how the act will affect Belfast.
Specific concerns stated in the text approved by the council include zoning for the new businesses in relation residential neighborhoods, schools and churches, potential impacts to the community, public health and safety, and any additional burden the act would put on city services.
In Augusta, lawmakers have talked about enacting a statewide moratorium. If that happens, City Planner Wayne Marshall said the city’s would be moot. But he encouraged councilors to approve it anyway as a safeguard.
"Seeing as the state regs haven’t really been adopted yet, [Belfast’s moratorium] eliminates the likelihood of anyone just choosing to file a permit and the city sort of getting stuck in a place where we don’t have local regs to deal with it and the state regs aren’t in place."
The Marijuana Legalization Act, approved by voters in the last election, allows the cultivation and retail sale of marijuana for recreational use and for the establishment of "marijuana social clubs." It also gives municipalities the right to regulate or prohibit these new businesses, including stores and facilities for cultivation, product manufacturing and testing.
Belfast’s moratorium has no bearing on private use of marijuana allowed under the Act, which is scheduled to be signed into law Jan. 30.
From there, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry has up to nine months to make its own regulations for retail sale and cultivation of marijuana for recreational use and for social clubs that offer the drug for consumption on site.
Marshall previously said the council should plan to renew its moratorium, which will expire before the end of the state’s nine-month rule-making window.
Marshall said the city did not receive any comments on the moratorium, which was given a first reading by the council in December.
However Councilor Neal Harknes said the topic got a fair amount of play on social media, but many of the comments missed the point of the city’s moratorium.
"We’re not trying to thwart the will of the people," he said, noting that roughly 56 percent of Belfast voters favored legalizing marijuana. "We’re not trying to thwart their will or roll it back. We’re trying to make sure that, if this is going to happen, that it’s done right. And it’s gonna take a little time."
Councilor Eric Sanders summarized. "We’re not trying to roll it back," he said. "We’re trying to roll it right."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Belfast Passes Six-Month Ban On Marijuana-Related Businesses
Author: Ethan Andrews
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Photo Credit: Bob Pearson
Website: The Republican Journal
