TOPSHAM — Topsham’s only medical marijuana retail store is seeking the first license from the town since residents approved marijuana business license rules in May.
Highbrow opened at 49 Topsham Fair Mall Road in September 2017 before the town or state had adopted rules for medical marijuana or recreational marijuana businesses.
The town’s new rules require separate licenses for registered medical marijuana retail stores, marijuana cultivation facilities, products manufacturing facilities and testing facilities. Selectmen granted the first license for a cultivation facility to Ryan Holmes of Sundog Caregiving LLC on Dec. 5.
Topsham Town Planner Rod Melanson said Highbrow needs to get a registered caregiver retail store license from the town and state to continue to operate. Topsham will only hand out two of these licenses.
Like other marijuana businesses such as cultivation facilities, stores must have ventilation and security systems.
Highbrow owner and registered caregiver Charles Donahue said the license puts more restrictions on the business. The hours of operation and size of the caregiver’s office are limited, for example.
“It just creates red tape,” he said.
Still, it shouldn’t change how the store operates.
“We have a good business and see 150 to 220 patients on any given day,” Donahue said. “It’s been a very good location and the support from the town and the patients have been absolutely remarkable. I couldn’t be happier with it.”
All of his customers are medical marijuana cardholders, except for a select amount of wholesale Highbrow may provide other companies. Sales grew 121% from November 2017 to November 2018 and another 490% between November 2018 and November 2019.
Melanson said he didn’t see any problems with Highbrow’s application. Nor has the planning and codes enforcement office hasn’t received any complaints about Highbrow since it opened.
Topsham selectmen will review the application Thursday when it meets at 7 p.m. at the town office.
While Topsham adopted rules for medical marijuana at a town meeting in May, the town decided not to allow recreational marijuana sales in town. In non-binding referendums in November 2018, 60% of Topsham voters showed support for medical marijuana retail. A smaller majority supported commercial growing, but most were opposed to recreational marijuana.
Donahue expressed disappointment during an interview in April that Topsham isn’t allowing recreational marijuana retail. He initially sought to locate in Topsham because it was among the towns that voted in favor of legalized recreational marijuana in a statewide referendum in November 2016.
While he never planned to leave the medical marijuana industry, he hoped to expand into the recreational marijuana market. He turned Bath where he hopes to open a recreational marijuana store on the southbound side of Leeman Highway. He hopes to open as early as next April.
The Bath Planning Board was scheduled to review that project at its meeting Tuesday night.
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