WESTBROOK — After months of a moratorium on marijuana retail establishments in the city, the City Council has permanently banned them from Westbrook. 

With no debate, the council Monday unanimously passed a land use amendment that would prohibit any business that engages in retail or wholesale sales of marijuana including stores, cultivation, manufacturing or testing facilities, and marijuana social clubs. The ordinance does not impact lawful sales of medical marijuana.

The issue of marijuana retail sales has been before the city since 2016, shortly before Maine voters gave the OK for adults to possess and grow a set amount of marijuana. That approval also left it up to municipalities to set restrictions on where marijuana businesses could be located.

The city’s retail sales moratorium, which prohibits businesses opening pending regulations, was implemented in November 2016 and extended in October 2017 and again in March. The current moratorium is set to expire in September.

In May, the state Legislature approved regulations on licensing, taxation and regulation of adult-use marijuana at the state level and gave municipalities the option of choosing how to regulate it locally and employers the power to develop rules at their workplaces regarding retail marijuana use.

Westbrook follows the lead of several southern Maine communities that have already made a decision regarding adult use marijuana.

In July, the Freeport Town Council permanently banned marijuana retail stores, manufacturing, cultivation, testing and social clubs in that community. Cape Elizabeth followed suit in August, and Gray a month later. Town councils in Yarmouth, Standish and Old Orchard Beach permanently banned marijuana establishments in January.

Next week, voters in Buxton will decide if they want to ban retail marijuana operations there. 

South Portland, however, has taken a different approach. In November, city councilors opted to impose a series of land use restrictions outlining where adult-use marijuana businesses can be located and where manufacturing, testing and retail sales would be allowed only by a special exception. ??

Michael Kelley can be reached at 781-3661 x 125 or [email protected] or on Twitter @mkelleynews