LISBON — Lisbon is starting to iron out rules for businesses who want to sell medical marijuana.
The town will require those businesses to pay an annual fee to get a license, similar to the way in which municipalities regulated businesses that sell alcohol, in addition to the inspections and town code requirements any other business has to meet.
Lisbon will require the new facilities to have 24-hour surveillance both inside and outside the buildings. They will also be required to have some form of odor mitigation system, inspected by a Maine engineer, to reduce any odors coming from the facility.
The ordinance states the town will charge $250 for licensing. Facility owners will be responsible for preventing marijuana use or loitering on their premises. Owners could face a penalty between $500 and $2,500 for not complying with one or more of the new rules.
The proposed rules disqualified someone with a controlled substance violation, punishable by a year or more in prison, within the last 10 years.
Another concern raised was with the proposed requirement that business owners renting space would also need to provide written consent from the property owner. Town Councilor Kris Crawford noted on Tuesday that the rules may be too far reaching for someone who is already in compliance with the state.
“There’s a few things that we don’t need to know,” said Crawford. “All this comes down to in my opinion is the state’s already certified things and we’re just doing local licenses.”
Councilors decided last month to begin the process of lifting a six-month moratorium on medical marijuana facilities. The moratorium will officially be lifted on Nov. 20. The decision to put an emergency ordinance in place covers the town once that happens, with the ability to make changes.
The emergency ordinance is valid for 90 days with the option to extend. Councilors voted 5-0 to pass the emergency rules with Chris Brunelle abstaining and Fern Larochelle absent. The permanent ordinance will likely be revisited in early January, but the town is now covered if there is a medical marijuana application ahead of those discussions.
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