At a special town meeting Jan. 11, Waldoboro voters approved creating a six-month moratoria on methadone clinics and medical marijuana dispensaries. The moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries also blocks marijuana growing facilities.
Both moratoria passed easily with limited discussion.
Prior to the vote on the moratorium on methadone clinics, one resident called for a vote to ban the clinics outright. Town officials explained it is illegal to ban the facilities.
State Rep. Dana Dow, the moderator at the special town meeting, said under federal guidelines “drug addicts are disabled” so the facilities are protected under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Because the facilities cannot be banned, the moratoria will give town officials time to review town ordinance and create language to regulate them, said Waldoboro Code Enforcement Officer and Planning and Development Director Misty Gorksi in response to the discussion about banning them.
“We can create policy that limits any negative impact on the town, while making sure that people in need of these services can get the best help possible,” Gorski said.
At this time, no applications have been filed for either a methadone clinic or a medical marijuana dispensary in Waldoboro, and moratoria were described as “preemptive” actions.
“Recent events in neighboring communities caused us to look at our own ordinances and decide this was an important step,” Gorski said.
