Retail marijuana applicants in Maine city might be disqualified

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Twelve out of 43 of applicants for a municipal permit to sell marijuana in Portland, Maine, are facing disqualification.

Maine’s largest city issued pre-denial letters to those applicants after a preliminary review, the Portland Press Herald reported.

According to the report, reasons for the preliminary disqualifications include applicants:

  • Lacking a state license.
  • Being late on local taxes or fees in the past five years.
  • Land-use disputes.
  • Zoning issues.

The 12 would-be retailers have 10 days to challenge those initial disqualifications.

Three other applicants are facing municipal inquiries into their state cannabis licenses, a municipal lawyer told the newspaper.

Portland’s marijuana license scoring matrix, which favors locally owned businesses, has been challenged by multistate operator Acreage Holdings.

In August, a federal judge ruled that Portland can’t enforce the policy.

The Portland City Council did not reach consensus on how to adjust the scoring matrix at a Monday meeting, according to the Press Herald.

Meanwhile, Maine’s long-delayed adult-use cannabis market is scheduled to launch Oct. 9.

State regulators began issuing licenses to adult-use cannabis businesses earlier this month.