Chelsea voters approved amendments to the town’s Medical Marijuana Retail Store Ordinance on Tuesday by a 148 to 90 vote.

The ordinance is designed to set local licensing requirements for medical marijuana retail stores. The most notable change is the inclusion of a $1,000 licensing fee.

The ordinance does not limit medical marijuana businesses and does not apply to adult-use marijuana establishments, as the town has not opted-in to allowing them.

Town Manager Scott Tilton said the town’s three existing medical marijuana retail stores would all have to obtain licenses to continue operating, but caregivers operating out of their homes are exempt. Officials from the three stores all declined the Kennebec Journal’s requests for comment last month.

Selectboard Chair Deb Sanderson told the Kennebec Journal last month that other types of businesses in town are not charged licensing fees.

A local caregiver said last month that the ordinance targeted existing stores and the town should have considered adopting an ordinance that allowed medical marijuana and adult-use retail stores.

As proposed in the ordinance, the local license’s term would coincide with the term of the operator’s state license for selling medical marijuana. Sanderson said last month the license could likely be renewed each year for the same annual fee. The town’s selectboard may decide on fees for late applications at a later date.

A total of 241 ballots were cast in Chelsea.

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