Gardiner calls temporary halt to new marijuana stores in the city after recent approvals While the moratorium covers adult-use and medical marijuana retail outlets, it will not affect those that are already operating or had submitted paperwork for consideration by Sept. 2. Share GARDINER — Municipal officials in Gardiner have called a temporary halt to accepting business license applications from cannabis-related businesses wanting to open stores in the southern Kennebec County city. The unanimous vote came Wednesday night, about 2 1/2 months after residents and community organizations began airing concerns about the number of applications being submitted for marijuana-related retail businesses in downtown Gardiner.