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.
