Windham revises marijuana license fee structure

Members of the Windham Town Council have voted to revise
the town's marijuana license fee structure and cap the total
amount that cannabis businesses must contribute to an 
education fund for informing the public about the dangers
of substance abuse. COURTESY PHOTO  

By Ed Pierce

The Windham Town Council has revised its marijuana licensing fee structure, capping the overall amount some businesses contribute to the town’s substance abuse educational fund at $1,000 and lowering standard license fees for other cannabis business.

The town’s existing marijuana licensing fee structure was adopted by councilors in September 2021 and raised licensing fees for adult use, cultivation facilities and medical marijuana caregiver stores from $3,500 annually to $10,000. But following council discussions at previous meetings, some businesses asked councilors to take another look at the fee structure to be fair to everyone concerned.

During a public hearing on Tuesday night, Windham Town Manager Barry Tibbetts revealed a revised fee schedule and members of the public and business owners were asked for their thoughts prior to a council vote.

Tibbetts said that for 2021, Windham collected a total of $194,700 in marijuana license fees and cannabis businesses contributed $77,880 to a dedicated education fund used for presentations to educate children and the public about the dangers of substance abuse and for other related uses such as awarding college scholarships. 

Under the revised fee structure proposal, Tibbetts said Windham would take in a total of $54,900 for 2022 and $16,160 in education fees. Back in July 2021, members of the Windham Town Council committed to using licensing fees imposed by the town for retail and medical marijuana facilities for drug education and drug prevention programs. Councilors then approved a plan in August 2021 to award grants to applicants and create a scholarship for a deserving Windham student seeking to earn a degree in drug counseling or addiction treatment.

Some individuals who spoke during the public hearing said it is unfair to force marijuana businesses to contribute to the education fund, yet other businesses that sell alcohol or e-cigarettes do not have to pay similar fees.

Maggie Terry of Windham, representing the Legal Leaf and The Hashery businesses, said she believes the revised fee proposal is discriminatory against marijuana businesses.

“The education fee is great, but I think it’s too high at 40 percent. I don’t think the burden should be carried alone by the marijuana community. We shouldn’t be funding all this education fee.”

For an adult use marijuana store, the current fee for a renewal is $10,000, but Tibbetts is proposing to reduce that fee to $2,500, with new licenses set at $10,000. Prior to last fall, the original fee for an adult use marijuana store was $2,500.

The proposed fees for a Tier 1 marijuana cultivation facility up to 500-square-feet would remain at $1,000, while a Tier 2 marijuana cultivation facility up to 2,000-square-feet would see fees drop to $1,500 for renewals from its current rate of $5,000. New licenses for a Tier 2 cultivation facility would be $5,000.

For Tier 3 cultivation facilities more than 2,000-square-feet, the renewal fee would decrease from $7,500 to $2,000 with new licenses for Tier 3 set at $10,000. Tier 4 cultivation facilities would drop to $2,500 from $10,000 with new Tier 4 licenses established at $10,000.

At a prior council meeting earlier this year there was a lengthy discussion about fees for marijuana caregivers, but Tibbetts’ proposal for on-site cultivation for medical marijuana caregivers would be $300 from its current rate of $500. New on-site cultivation for medical marijuana caregiver licenses would be set at $500.

The proposal included that each licensed marijuana business in Windham use 40 percent of its license fee or $100 minimum and capped at $1,000 to contribute to the education fund.

Councilor Mark Morrison said he favored revising the fee structure but questioned the education fee reduction.

“The proposed fee schedule in front of us tonight is appropriate, but I’m concerned about the impact to the education fee and that’s a concern,” Morrison said. “Do we have the ability as a town to levy a fee on liquor and e-cigarettes?”

Jarrod Maxfield, the town council chair, said that although alcohol and tobacco are regulated by the state, Windham is exploring with the town attorney if imposing a fee on those other businesses can be accomplished and he also pointed out one other fact.

“As far as I know, Windham is the only town in the state that has enacted an education fee,” he said. “We are looking into being fair to all industries.”

Councilors voted 4-2 to approve the revised marijuana license fee schedule.<