Retail cannabis license hopefuls line up before vote in rural Oregon

Would-be recreational marijuana retailers are lining up outside municipal planning offices in Ontario, Oregon, to nab retail licenses should voters repeal a ban on cannabis sales within city limits.

The City Council recently voted to impose a 1,000-foot buffer on adult-use marijuana stores, which means there will be space for only about 15 establishments if the local measure to repeal the ban passes Tuesday.

City planners are unsure of how to deal with the growing line of potential marijuana licensees, The Argus Observer reported.

Steven Meland, co-owner of Huntington-based Hotbox Farms, a recreational marijuana retailer, and also the chairman of the city’s Marijuana Ad Hoc Committee, told the newspaper he has company representatives standing in the line.

If the measure passes, people might remain in line until Jan. 2 – the first day the city would issue licenses.

Measure 23-61 would allow the sale of recreational marijuana with a 3% sales tax.

Ontario is near the Idaho border and about an hour from Boise.

– Associated Press