Nearly two years after Ellsworth voters approved allowing adult-use cannabis stores, the city is inching closer to the opening of three retail shops along the High Street corridor.
Following a June lottery draw, the city awarded three businesses conditional approval to set up adult-use cannabis shops. Construction is underway for at least two of the stores, according to a city permit document.
The lottery came after a two-year process in which city staff and councilors weighed how to permit retail marijuana stores. Much of the discussion revolved around how to establish adult-use cannabis shops while preserving Ellsworth’s family-oriented character.
JAR Cannabis Co., which has 10 stores across Maine, one of which is limited to medical patients only, and Lighthouse Cannabis Co. were awarded adult-use approval. JAR’s Ellsworth location at 59 Downeast Highway, scheduled to open in early 2027, will be its northernmost site.
Lighthouse submitted two applications under separate limited liability companies — with identical addresses — both of which were selected in the draw. Tim Pease, the city attorney, said the city’s adult-use ordinance allows family members to submit separate applications, according to the Ellsworth American weekly newspaper.
Not all councilors were in favor of the prolonged process. Councilor Steven O’Halloran, a frequent City Hall critic, thought the licenses should have been awarded within 6 months of the referendum. He opposed the city’s lottery system, arguing there should be no limitations on the number of shops allowed in Ellsworth.
“I was not in favor of any cannabis stores but, during the referendum of ‘24, the general public voted 55 percent to have recreational marijuana,” O’Halloran told the Bangor Daily News Wednesday. “Therefore, it doesn’t matter what I want. However, I am very upset with the process they have come up with. If we’re going to have them, I believe the government should stay out of business and let the free market figure it out.”
The adult-use licensing fee has been set at $10,000, according to city officials. O’Halloran strongly objects to any such fee.
JAR co-founder Joel Pepin said the fee was on the higher end for other municipalities his businesses operate in, but there are other cities that charge even more.
The city is expected to consider the final licenses at its Dec. 21 meeting, according to Amy Kenney, the city’s communications director.
“Following the November 2024 referendum, the city needed to develop the local regulatory framework necessary to implement the voters’ decision,” Kenney said in a statement describing the many administrative hurdles in place. “Developing and adopting those regulations takes time, and staff worked carefully, diligently through the required public and legal processes to establish a clear framework before licenses could be issued.”
Although Ellsworth’s first retail marijuana store will likely open more than two years after the 2024 voter referendum, the city’s drawn-out process is not unique.
“We’ve been doing this for a long time and have seen firsthand that creating local cannabis regulations can be a complicated process, particularly for communities doing it for the first time,” JAR co-founder Joel Pepin said in a statement Wednesday to the BDN. “We’ve seen other Maine towns spend years working through their local rules before allowing adult-use businesses. I understand why municipalities want to take the time to get it right.”
JAR, founded in 2011 by three Maine friends, purchased the Route 1 location — which formerly housed Mike’s Country Store — and is now remodeling the site. Following construction, the store will go through the city’s final approval process, including a review by the code enforcement department, Pepin said.
It was not immediately clear if the adult-use Lighthouse store in Brewer is connected to the Ellsworth applications. The Brewer shop did not respond to multiple inquiries Wednesday from the BDN.
Colt and Summer Sleight, who are listed under the Lighthouse applications, did not respond Wednesday to inquiries from the BDN.
One of the Lighthouse locations will be at Maine Coast Mall, while its other site could be at 403 High Street, according to license applications submitted to the city and shared with the BDN. The sites are roughly a mile from each other.
As the three stores navigate the city’s bureaucratic approval process, the owner of one of Maine’s largest medical cannabis chains, Frank Berenyi of Marijuanaville, is suing Ellsworth over his springtime bid to set up shop on Main Street.
The administrative appeal followed a monthslong saga between Ellsworth city councilors, staff and Berenyi, who was denied a business license twice between February and April. The denials came shortly after products at Berenyi’s Waterville store tested positive for pesticides.
Berenyi’s appeal is still pending in Hancock County Superior Court. A judge extended a filing deadline for the cannabis businessman to Nov. 30 after the city failed to produce documents responsive to a May Freedom of Access Act request by Berenyi that he sought for his legal arguments.