Poland man wins marijuana dispensary license

AUGUSTA — Glenn Peterson of Poland is the latest business owner to be awarded a license to dispense marijuana under Maine's Medical Use of Marijuana Act, according to a press release from the Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services in the Department of Health and Human Services. Peterson is chief operating officer of Safe Harbor Maine, Inc., based in Biddeford.

According to the release, Peterson's nonprofit company has been awarded the license to dispense marijuana in District 1, York County.

DHHS has also issued a license to Primary Organic Therapy Inc. of Whitneyville, to dispense marijuana in District 7, which is Washington and Hancock counties.

A total of 17 applications were reviewed by a four-member panel in the second round of license awards. They were scored based on criteria outlined in the application instructions, including their plan to operate as a non-profit corporation long-term, convenience of location, prior business experience, patient education, record-keeping, inventory, and quality control.

"The quality of applications in this round was much-improved,’’ said Cathy Cobb, director of DLRS. “It was clear that these applicants studied the winning applications and, as a result, scores were generally higher.”

Cobb said that she will be meeting with the dispensaries' chief executives to review their applications and to discuss next steps. The dispensaries will likely take between two and four months to become operational.