First Two Licensed Maine Marijuana Stores Located Far Apart

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Officials in Maine say the state's first two licensed retail marijuana stores are located more than 100 miles apart in very different parts of the state.

The stores will be located in densely populated South Portland and in Northport, a town of about 1,500 people in mostly rural Waldo County.

The Maine Office of Marijuana Policy announced the much-anticipated licenses Tuesday along with its first licenses for testing labs and cultivators.

Marijuana won’t be available for sale for about another month, but the issuance of licenses is a major hurdle for the state’s cannabis industry.

Mainers voted to legalize marijuana with a 2016 vote, but the rollout of rules, regulations and licenses has been slow going.