NO MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES IN SANFORD -- FOR
NOW

SANFORD -- It looks like there will not be a medical marijuana
dispensary in Sanford, at least not in the foreseeable future.

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services' Division of
Licensing and Regulatory Services (DLRS) has selected Safe Harbor
Maine, Inc. to operate a dispensary in Maine's Health District 1 of
York County. Safe Harbor Maine proposes to establish a marijuana
dispensary in Biddeford.

The DLRS announced Tuesday afternoon the selection of two nonprofit
corporations, one in District 1 and one in District 7 (Washington and
Hancock counties) to dispense marijuana under Maine's Medical Use of
Marijuana Act.

Primary Organic Therapy Inc. was selected to serve District 7 with a
proposed business location of 106 Main Street in Whitneyville.

Primary Organic Therapy also submitted an application for a medical
marijuana dispensary at 90 Community Drive in Sanford, but Safe Harbor
Maine's application scored significantly higher than those of all its
competitors in District 1, according to DLRS criteria.

The applications were reviewed by a four-member panel. They were
scored based on criteria outlined in the application instructions,
including their plan to operate as a nonprofit 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
DLRS Director Cathy Cobb. "It was clear that these applicants studied
the winning applications and as a result, scores were generally higher."

That was particularly true of Safe Harbor Maine's application, which
earned 96 out of a total 100 points. Primary Organic Therapy's
application received a total of 79 points on its District 1 application

Safe Harbor Maine's proposed business location for the District 1
dispensary is 460 Alfred Street in Biddeford.

The Sanford Town Council approved an emergency 90-day moratorium in
April preventing a medical marijuana dispensary from locating in town
until zoning ordinance changes could be developed to regulate where
and how a dispensary could operate.

In June the council was approached by two different nonprofit
corporations interested in establishing a dispensary in Sanford. Both
submitted applications to the state by the June 25 deadline set by the
state.

On July 9, the successful applicants were announced in six of the
state's eight health districts. None of the applications for districts
1 and 7 were approved, however, and DLRS Director Cathy Cobb
characterized the applicants that did not meet the criteria as failing
to demonstrate a nonprofit "mission." Cobb said the DLRS was weary of
applications that appeared to be "get-rich quick schemes." The DLRS
reopened the application process for districts 1 and 7, and set an
Aug. 20 deadline.

On July 20 town councilors voted to extend the moratorium by just two
weeks, opening the door a little wider for interested non-profits.
Revisions were made to the town's zoning ordinance by the planning
board that permit dispensaries as a conditional use in three zones.
The changes were approved by the council on Aug. 24 and are now in
effect.