Billings voters put a stop to adult-use cannabis sales within city limits in November, and also made it much harder for medical cannabis suppliers to set up shop in town.
As the deadline for new licenses is six week away, there has not been a single application. Those in the industry say the high costs of the business license is part of the reason no one has applied.
There is some agreement from the businesses and the city that another reason is the challenge of meeting the requirements. Montana Advanced Caregivers (MAC) has been in the medical cannabis business since 2009. It has one location in Billings, and three others outside the city limits in Yellowstone County.
"Our locations that sit in the county have no licensing requirement from the county," said Rich Abromeit, MAC co-owner and C.E.O. Abromeit said he will need to apply for three city business licenses: medical cannabis dispensary, cannabis cultivator and cannabis manufacturer, each costing nearly $4,000 for a total of nearly $12,000.
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