The final educational meeting for potential retail marijuana business in Boothbay Harbor was a panel discussion on Tuesday, Oct. 24. Selectmen invited three panelists and Police Chief Bob Hasch to cover the health and law enforcement implications of such a business.

The panelists were Kate Marone, director of Healthy Lincoln County; Holly Stover, coordinator for the Boothbay Region Community Resource Council’s Addiction Outreach Program; and Daniel Walker, partner and chair of the government affairs group at Preti Flaherty in Augusta. Walker is also the legal counsel of The Wellness Connection of Maine, Maine’s largest marijuana dispensary company. Walker joined the panel as The Wellness Connection of Maine’s CEO, Patricia Rosi — originally slated  — had to back out at the last minute.

Marone said young people may use a substance if it is easily accessed and they fee it isn’t harmful, that they will not get caught, or that others their age are using it.

Marone cited Lincoln County data from the 2015 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey. The data is also available on MIYHS’s website:

• nine percent of middle school students and 30 percent of high school students have tried marijuana in their lifetime of which 33 percent of middle school students said they tried before the age of 11 and 22 percent of high school students before they were 18.
• four percent of middle school students and 20 percent of high school students used at least once in the last month and within that pool, 10-12 percent were in ninth grade and 25 percent were juniors and seniors. Twenty percent of middle school students and 50 percent of high school students believe marijuana is easily accessible with 20 percent of high school students saying their parents would not have an issue if they found out.

“We hear from a lot of parents, ‘Well, it’s safer than,’ ‘Well, I’d rather my kid be using pot than using heroin,’” said Marone. “What we have heard from the kids is that it’s safe. They remove the ‘r’ from safer — they just hear safe. They have this perception that everybody’s using it and that’s what’s concerning. I think that most people would agree that this substance … is not appropriate for kids to use until they’re of legal age ...”

Stover asked, “What do we want to have in this community that would disallow or maybe limit the way ... kids view marijuana or see marijuana downtown if there is to be a marketplace?”

Stover said, now that marijuana is upon Boothbay Harbor, it is time the necessary procedures are followed to making sure access to youth is addressed.

“We really do, as a community, want to serve our youth well and we do have a lot of protective factors, here,” Stover said. “We spent a lot of money and time and effort in this community making it a really great place for kids to grow up … I think we want to strengthen those things and limit the amount of access kids have to any drug including access to marijuana before they’re of legal age.”

Hasch addressed law enforcement aspects of retail marijuana. He said that since the citizens initiative passed and the public dialogue began, he has been listening to what people think and how they feel about it as a public safety concern.

“I’m still in that mode,” said Hasch. “We are still trying to find our way through it. Looking at this, we have to grapple with the fact that this is how it is, the law has changed and it is now a legal substance for adults. I’m not going to sit here and say ‘Well, marijuana has never been here.’ It’s been here. We’ve been dealing with it … but it has been a concern, detecting people who have been driving. It isn’t just with marijuana — it’s with all drugs including prescription drugs …”

Hasch said his second concern is how law enforcement will deal with retail marijuana compliance. With an increasing plate of responsibility for local law enforcement, Hasch asked who will be responsible for enforcing state and local laws.

Walker said people in the marijuana industry are trying to figure out where they fit in. “And it is an industry — a legal industry.”

He said The Wellness Connection of Maine provides marijuana to patients with various ailments, and it is undeniable how much it is helping them.

“What we find is that (marijuana) is highly effective for these kinds of (medical) conditions,” said Walker. “We’re also finding that it is for other conditions, and that was one of the primary reasons we supported the legalization effort …”

However, Walker said another reason was that the state has not given the medical program the attention it should have. There had not been a program manager in over a year, which left all duties — overseeing eight dispensaries and 4,000 caregivers — to the assistant.

“One person,” said Walker. “So, we felt that it was time for the state of Maine to really focus on this and to bring some real regulation into this program and make it a real industry ... Every state which handles this handles it in their own separate way. We’re a unique place, we do things ‘the Maine way’— Colorado did it one way … but it doesn’t have to be that way in Maine.”

Selectman Denise Griffin wanted to know what impacts certain facilities, such as cultivation, may have on public resources such as water, sewer, and electricity. Griffin also asked how quality control is approached.

Walker said there are no testing requirements before the product reaches customers. He said there will be different sizes of facilities and growing operations ranging from 500 square feet to 30,000 square feet of canopy growing space. He added that, due to the nature and methods of harvesting the plant, there is very little waste and almost all water used in cultivation is used in growing and harvesting. The real consumption comes from electricity to keep growing areas humidified, at the right temperature, and illuminated, he said.

Darrell Gudroe, consultant for Pharmer’s Market, asked Hasch if he feels like without a store in the town, the current black market will be a burden to law enforcement.

“If the town doesn’t allow for any kind of recreational use, it’s not going to benefit from the funding that the state is going to be allowing the towns to have,” said Gudroe. “So, you’re going to be dealing with that enforcement, you won’t have a responsible store, store owner, that you’ll be able to come to to speak to about the problems that you’re having …”

Hasch said there is still illegal marijuana dealing, but that marijuana tickets are virtually nonexistent because, now that it is legal, there has been so much confusion among law enforcement and prosecutors.

“It’s a great point,” said Hasch. “I do like the thought of it being regulated, if you will, and being able to go to someone … What I’m told is that if you have a legal dispensary sometimes (things) are better regulated. I don’t know whether that stops a black market. We’ve never been there — this hasn’t happened yet.”

Walker added regarding law enforcement, the retail side will be overseen by the Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS) most likely through an offshoot of the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations (BABLO). The cultivation side of the industry will be overseen by the Department of Agriculture, but Walker said most responsibility will most likely fall upon BABLO.

Stover said, like alcohol and tobacco, there should be limits on visibility to children, be it placement, packaging, or what the product looks like. Marone was concerned with concentration and location of retailers, stating that placing a 1,000-foot buffer would not be enough, and that people also need to think about the other areas and businesses families might frequent.

Walker said the bill currently heading toward Gov. Paul LePage’s desk covers those issues; but with the governor’s promise to veto the bill, the only limits and protections would be in the citizens initiative, which was vague by design, Walker said.  

“It’s not about whether or not we want marijuana in the state, we voted on that in 2016,” said Walker. “Right now, it’s about how we regulate and give municipalities what they need to ensure it’s safe in their communities or however they want it to be in their communities.”

Planning Board Chairman Tom Churchill asked if there has been any data showing a relationship between towns with a retail shop and towns without one.

“About two-thirds of the jurisdictions in Colorado have opted out,” said Marone. “So, I think that data will hopefully come out. I have seen data that shows states that have legalized marijuana have higher rates of use than states that don’t.”

Selectman Mike Tomko asked what Boothbay Harbor will need to do to have fair, effective ordinances if  the town passes the ballot measures.

Walker said if the state passes the bill, a level of guidance will come from that, but the state will not provide written ordinances for municipalities. Even if the bill does not pass, the citizens initiative still gives complete control to municipalities.

“The trickiest issue is going to be — from the state level, there are going to be no limits on how many licenses are out there. That is all on you as a municipal official,” said Walker.