DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine (AP) Maine towns are proposing ordinances to decide whether to ban or allow recreational marijuana stores because most of the state’s towns still do not permit retail weed sales.
In the state, only 47 of Maine’s 500 towns allow recreational marijuana sellers, and only 29% of Mainers live in those communities, the Bangor Daily News reported.
The resistance in Maine stems from the lasting effects that harder drugs, like opioids, continue to have on their communities and the stricter regulation laws in the majority of the state.
Multiple towns in the state like Dover-Foxcroft, the largest town in Maine’s most conservative county, are now facing a referendum in November to decide the permission of retailers to open shop.
Dover-Foxcroft board member Stephen Grammont said Mainers have wide and diverse political stances so “the measure on the ballot is to see if people want the activity at all.”
While Maine legalized marijuana in 2016, many towns have been slow to set up a marketplace to allow it to be sold. Some towns even banned selling recreational marijuana, including Carmel in 2017.
