WATERVILLE OKS POT DISPENSARY MORATORIUM

Moratorium To Last At Least Six Months

WATERVILLE -- There will be no medical marijuana dispensary in the
city, at least not this year.

City councilors on Tuesday voted unanimously to place a moratorium on
considering applications for dispensaries and permits for at least six
months.

Councilors said they want to explore what areas of the city might be
appropriate for dispensaries and related facilities such as storage or
cultivation sites. They said they also want to ensure that the city
has proper regulations in place.

On July 20, councilors voted 7-0 to approve the moratorium; on Tuesday
they took two final 7-0 votes.

The issue arose recently when Northeast Patients Group cited a former
KFC on Water Street as a possible location for a medical marijuana
dispensary.

Beverly Busque, who lives next door to the KFC, opposes the idea. She
told councilors she and her husband Andrew do not want such a facility
in the neighborhood.

"So it needs to go somewhere else," she said.

For three weeks, the Busques have been marching on the sidewalk daily
to protest opening a dispensary at the KFC. She said she does not
oppose medical marijuana; in fact, her father, whom she cared for in
her home, died of cancer 2 1/2 years ago and if she could have
obtained marijuana for him at the time, she would have done so.

"However, I don't want it sold next to me, out of my backyard," she
said.

John Stewart of Washington, Maine, also spoke out against locating a
dispensary on Water Street, although he said he was a patient himself
and a caregiver for someone who uses medical marijuana.

Stewart said the state took the citizens initiative regarding medical
marijuana and "warped" it so it is unjust. He encouraged city
officials to continue saying "no" to dispensaries.

"You have the right to do this, so keep it up," he
said.

However, Councilor Rosemary Winslow, D-Ward 3, said there is another
side to the medical marijuana issue. She said she has spoken to people
who live both in and outside of Waterville in the last two weeks who
are medically fragile and they and their physicians are seeking access
to medical marijuana.

"They are not individuals that are derelict," she said. "They are
paying members of the communities and had feared and are thankful the
Busques brought to the forefront the location at KFC."

She said those people worry about the possibility of being identified
if they have to go to such a location and what would happen to them if
they leave the facility with marijuana.

"There's certainly a lot more to look at -- to discuss down the road,"
Winslow said.