Counting down to legalization: This holiday season,
there’s a new business in town.
By Rebecca Garibaldi
It’s time we met the music men.
“People come to Portland because it’s the city of ‘best ofs’—the best food, the best beer, and now you have the best cannabis,” says Thomas Mourmouras, director of operations at Fire on Fore on 367 Fore Street, Portland, and Beach Boys on 818 Maine Street, South Portland. “Cannabis and service are the two biggest industries in Portland keeping the younger population in town, helping lead to a huge economic drive and improving the community,” says Mourmouras, 27. “Just look at our employees. Eighteen of our 20 employees are under the age of 35.”
The medical cannabis dispensary offers products treating acute and chronic illnesses, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. “We lean toward retail,” Mourmouras says. “The people of Portland view us as a high-end boutique. We can’t diagnose problems. We’re not doctors, and we can’t give people medical recommendations. What we can do is inform them on the different types of relief our cannabis products offer.”
“For me, [marijuana’s] the same as alcohol and tobacco use,” says Jessica Ben, a South Portland resident and mother. “I think the economic benefit of recreational legalization would be huge.”
“We’re trying to stay away from being compared to tobacco use,” says Mourmouras. “If there’s any comparison to alcohol, recreational use [is closest to] the craft beer industry. Our product is an alternative to liquor and tobacco. We’re seeing a big CBD [cannabidiol] ‘oil boom’ right now. Ideally, once the bill passes, we will sell recreationally. We expect the majority of our sales will be THC [tetrahydrocannabinol]-related then.” CBD products contain less than 0.3 THC levels making them more of a relaxant, as opposed to THC products, which result in more of a high.
“Our biggest concern about the new bill is the 250-foot buffer [between marijuana retail stores]. There are multiple stores surrounding us looking for a license. This will make the process much more competitive,” Mourmouras says.
Directly across from Fire on Fore, Awear Smokeshop at 370 Fore Street also has plans to sell recreationally. Store employee Ellie Crawford says, “We’re not sure what’s going to happen if the buffer comes into play. We’ll take it as it goes, but the owner of our store is in tight communication with the owners at Fire on Fore.”
Meanwhile, Mourmouras says, “I’m not sure what their intention is. If they do decide to go into the recreational market it’s going to be very interesting. I don’t communicate with the store owner personally, so I can’t say what their plan is.”
Tucked away in the town of Scarborough at 137 Pleasant Hill Road sits Mainely Medical. In its first two years, this caregiver cultivation facility and struggling start-up has only tapped into 10 percent of their potential market space. “Sales at our location have already doubled on a month by month basis,” says Tito Sands, CEO and store owner. “Once we’re able to use 100 percent of our market space, our plant cultivation will increase from 30 plants to around 5,000. This could boost our sales growth as well as employee growth from 7 workers to 20.”
Dispensaries aren’t the only benefactors of cannabis legalization. “The property owners who are cannabis-friendly and have facilities zoned properly are the big winners of this whole transition,” Sands says. “The landlords who aren’t willing to work with the cannabis business—mind you, we’re just like anyone else—are missing out on a big opportunity, as this movement is only beginning to get its feet as a true industry.”
As of now, the town of Scarborough has halted any new storefronts from opening. “Maine is dependent on local control,” Sands says. “Municipalities that opt-out of any of the license classes [for recreational marijuana sales and cultivation] are short-sighted to the opportunities that are coming. The property owners in those municipalities are then some of the biggest losers in the situation. As for us, we do have a great lease, but it’s tailored to our business purpose. Nothing in cannabis is normal.”
Not Everyone’s 100% On Board Yet
“There are currently no legally operating marijuana retail stores in the Town of Scarborough. At the August 29 Ordinance Committee meeting, the Committee directed staff to bring back draft ordinance language that allows for cultivation, manufacture, and testing of both medical and adult-use marijuana. The draft language does not allow for adult-use or medical marijuana retail stores.”—Larissa Crockett,
Scarborough Assistant Town Manager.
Ganja Candy Factory on Riverside Street in Portland is contemplating staying medical. “We worry about giving our current customer base the attention they deserve—we don’t want a line out the door of people who just want to get high. We’re content. More is always better—to an extent.”—Co-Owner Angela Warren with Jeremy Remians.
Very little about this article, as it relates to Mainely Medical in Scarborough, is accurate. The sales numbers are hugely misreported and represent market potential for a retail store and not actual sales. Mainely Medical is a struggling start-up hoping to make it through in this uncertain industry.