JAY — The town has submitted a reimbursement request for about $7,500 for staff work, legal fees and other expenses related to adopting an ordinance to allow recreational marijuana businesses in town.
Residents voted 805-608 on Nov. 2, 2021, to allow and regulate recreational marijuana cultivation facilities and marijuana products manufacturing facilities.
No one has applied for a permit to operate a marijuana business in town, Ronda Palmer, town clerk and code enforcement officer, said Wednesday.
Medical marijuana businesses are not covered by the Jay ordinance or the state law to reimburse municipalities in connection with recreational marijuana.
Palmer attended a class and learned that towns could be reimbursed for expenses related to recreational businesses.
The Legislature passed “An Act to Assist Qualifying Municipalities to Defray the Costs of Opting In to Permit Adult Use Marijuana Establishments,” which Gov. Janet Mills signed into law April 20.
The money will come from the state Office of Cannabis Policy’s Adult Use Health & Safety Municipal Opt-In Fund, according to information on the department’s website.
According to the cannabis office’s website, sales of recreational marijuana, as of the end of November, were nearly $143.62 million for the calendar year with $13.96 million in November alone.
Palmer said she included staff time and legal fees, which was about $5,000, in the reimbursement request.
Among the qualifying expenses, according to a state fact sheet, are legal fees and costs associated with the drafting and adoption of a warrant article or the adoption or amendment of an ordinance; costs incurred conducting a town meeting or election, or process of opting in to permit some or all recreational cannabis establishments within the municipality.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
