PORTLAND, Maine — Anticipating the passage of a referendum legalizing recreational marijuana, Portland city councilors are proposing a ban on shops selling the drug for six months — even though it would likely take longer than that for anyone to start legally offering pot in Maine.
If approved as is by the council, the 11th-hour measure would enact a six-month moratorium on retail marijuana shops and social clubs in Portland when the law passes, according to a draft of the regulation provided by the city. The proposed ordinance comes as a response to ballot Question 1, which would legalize pot for recreational use by people 21 and up.
But under the timeline laid out by Question 1, those looking to sell pot might have to wait more than six months anyway.
If the ballot measure is approved, it wouldn’t take effect until 30 days after the governor certifies the election results. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry then has up to nine months to write regulations for the new industry. Thirty days after that, the department would open up the 90-day application period, during which would-be marijuana retailers could apply for a sales permit.
Introduced by Councilors Ed Suslovic and Belinda Ray, the ordinance is intended as a stop-gap measure to afford the state time to develop regulations if Question 1 passes. Suslovic is seeking re-election to his District 3 seat on Tuesday.
If Question 1 is approved, the moratorium would prevent someone from applying at City Hall to sell marijuana in Portland before the city had set up any licensing or regulatory framework, according to Suslovic. Doing so might allow an early applicant to claim exemption to any regulation that the city might eventually pass, he said.
“This moratorium will allow staff more time to better coordinate potential city regulations with any that may be implemented by the state,” Suslovic said.
Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling, who has one vote on the City Council, said he plans to oppose the measure.
“From my perspective, it is not needed,” Strimling said, citing the delay in implementation under Question 1. “I want to be very careful about trying to politicize this issue on the night before the election.”
Because it was added to the agenda at the last minute, seven of nine votes would be required to forgo a second reading and approve the ordinance as an emergency measure at Monday’s council meeting. Councilor Jon Hinck also said he will likely oppose the proposal, saying he was not persuaded that it is an emergency.
Question 1 is narrowly favored by voters, according to the most recent polling by the Portland Press Herald.
Under the proposed law, municipalities would not be able to stop the use or cultivation of pot, but they could ban or regulate selling it. And other Maine communities have taken steps similar to the one Portland is pondering. Brewer, Gray, Westbrook, Bangor and New Gloucester have already instituted six-month moratoriums, and other municipalities are considering such a measure.
The possession of marijuana for recreational use has been legal in Portland since 2013, though city police have continued to enforce state laws, which only allow for the medicinal use of pot.
The City Council will meet at 5 p.m. Monday at City Hall.