SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine -- Cities and towns in Maine are working on local moratoriums for medical marijuana dispensaries as the state continues to work on where to put the dispensaries and how to regulate them.

 

The state's Medical Marijuana Task Force is scheduled to meet again Friday for the fifth and, they hope, the final time. The panel continues to work on figuring out how to implement and regulate Maine's expanded medical marijuana law passed by voters in November.

 

The South Portland's City Council took up the issue Monday night. Mayor Tom Coward proposed a six-month moratorium to wait and see how the law will work, but after some debate, City Council members voted down the proposal.

 

"I don't have any problem with the intent of the law, but this is bizarre, inviting problems into our communities," South Portland City Councilwoman Linda Boudreau said.

 

"I think if we were to replace the word 'marijuana' with 'pain relief dispensaries' -- which is exactly what this is -- we wouldn't even be talking about this," South Portland City Councilman Tom Blake said.

 

Instead, South Portland will wait for the rules to be established by the task force and, if necessary, adjust them to reflect South Portland's community. Some towns, like Brewer, have already established moratoriums, while others, like Auburn, are considering such a measure.

 

The task force is deciding on things like how to control and regulate the nonprofit dispensaries and where they can operate -- issues that affect many Maine communities.

 

More than two weeks past the deadline for the task force to report to the Legislature, several towns and cities are wondering if they should form their own plan.

 

"I think we do kind of need to put the breaks on the whole thing to address the problem as a whole, and we won't know a lot about that until the state gets done with its several layers of review and rulemaking," Coward said.

 

"I also feel that the state needs to do its work. I feel like we're ahead of the curve and it's not necessary. I certainly will discuss zoning issues when the time is appropriate," South Portland City Councilwoman Rosemarie DeAngelis said.

 

Zoning was pushed far from the City Council's discussion table Monday night as the state task force is to decide where the dispensaries can operate and how many can be in an area, among other restrictions.

 

In November, Gov. John Baldacci ordered the creation of the task force -- made up of legislators, patient advocates and the attorney general -- after voters approved a new law to allow licensed dispensaries at nonprofit groups that will provide medical marijuana to qualified patients.