AUGUSTA — The state forced the closure of an outdoor vape tent for patients at a popular medical marijuana trade show this weekend, abruptly ending a seven-year practice embraced by both patients and vendors. The tobacco enforcement coordinator of the Maine Attorney General’s Office cited state anti-smoking and marijuana laws in its May 26 warning […]
marijuana
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Auburn council set to vote on $86M budget
AUBURN — After weeks of discussion — and a last-minute unexpected revenue gap — the City Council will vote Monday on next year’s $86.7 million budget. The budget will need five affirmative votes from the council during two readings in order to pass. The fiscal 2018-19 budget represents a 3.8 percent increase from this year, […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Topsham voters extend ban on pot businesses
TOPSHAM — New medical marijuana storefronts still aren’t allowed in Topsham. On Wednesday, selectmen approved a six-month extension of a moratorium on the establishments; the current one expires this month. Highbrow, the town’s marijuana-related business, is unaffected by the moratorium. The goal, according to Town Manager Rich Roedner, is to use the time to define […]
Posted inFranklin
Kingfield voters to decide on recreational pot businesses
KINGFIELD — Voters at the annual town meeting Saturday will decide whether to allow adult recreational marijuana establishments in town. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. at Kingfield Elementary School. If the article on marijuana establishments passes, the Planning Board will develop ordinances, regulations and licensing requirements. The proposed $1 million budget is about $41,000 […]
Posted inBusiness
Former Casco Grange Hall to become medical marijuana grow facility
CASCO — A former Grange Hall in the heart of Casco Village is being transformed into a medical marijuana grow facility, which isn’t sitting well with some residents. The building housed the local head start program until it fell into disrepair. Faced with spending money to demolish it or selling, Town Manager David Morton said […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Topsham selectmen consider extending pot moratorium
TOPSHAM — Selectmen will consider extending the town’s moratorium on retail marijuana establishments at their meeting Wednesday. The special meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Municipal Building. Voters rejected a proposed ban on retail operations at the May 16 town meeting, citing concerns that the ordinance would have lumped retail and medical […]
Posted inFranklin, sj-web
Police: Wilton man found hiding in attic with grow operation
WILTON — A local man accused in April of selling crack cocaine was arrested early Wednesday after he was found in his attic with marijuana plants, according to a court document. Dennis J. Ayala, 55, of Wilton appeared in court Wednesday on a felony charge of unlawful possession of a drug that contained fentanyl powder, […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Home labs for extracting cannabis concentrates an emerging public safety threat
BIDDEFORD — First responders and code enforcement inspectors have come across dozens of marijuana plants growing legally in apartments and houses across the city. But in late April they came across something new – and potentially dangerous – while putting out a fire in a downtown apartment building. In the kitchen of a third-floor apartment […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
California flower town wrestles with odor amid shift to pot
CARPINTERIA, Calif. (AP) — This picturesque coastal town cradled by mountains and sandy shores is a scene out of a Southern California postcard. Residents of Carpinteria say they feel lucky to live in what they consider a slice of paradise. But change is in the air. And sometimes, they say, it stinks. That’s because marijuana […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Report: Legal marijuana boosts government revenue — a little
A new report finds that legalizing and taxing marijuana boosts revenue for state and local governments, but not by much. The credit rating agency Moody’s Investor Service says in a study released Tuesday that legalizing recreational use of marijuana brings governments more money than it costs to regulate it. Despite high taxes on the legal […]