PROVINCETOWN — Long recognized as a safe haven to those who haven't been accepted by the world at large, Provincetown could soon become a hub for an industry shunned by most of Cape Cod, with seven marijuana businesses seeking state and local approval to open in the community.

“It’s a town that’s embracing cannabis businesses,” said James Borghesani, a spokesman for the Haven Center, who hopes to open a medical dispensary and retail marijuana shop on Commercial Street.

A majority of the towns on the Cape have banned recreational marijuana businesses to some extent, with most voting against the legalization of marijuana in 2016. Only the Outer Cape towns, from Eastham to Provincetown, voted in favor.

Provincetown had the highest percentage of voters on the Cape (76.2 percent) in favor of legalization and was second in the state behind the town of Wendell.

“I think Provincetown is a resort destination where people can relax and be themselves,” Town Manager David Panagore said. “We’re a very open and accepting community.”

Since the legalization of recreational marijuana in the state in 2016, many towns still seem to be having arguments that mirror the legalization question, but not Provincetown, Panagore said. Instead, residents in the town have largely been talking about the specific effects of particular locations.

“The discussion has been to try and keep it out of the residential districts,” he said.

The seven marijuana establishments that are in the regulatory pipeline — a mix of medical, retail only and co-located facilities — are all in commercial districts in town: three on Commercial Street, one on Shank Painter Road, one on Court Street, one on Captain Bertie’s Way, and possibly one on Bradford Street.

Curaleaf is among the furthest along in the process. The company has a host community agreement, which lays out the terms between the town and the dispensary, and a local special permit, allowing the business to have a dispensary at a certain location. Its state and town licenses to operate are still pending. The other six businesses are at different stages in the regulatory process.

Provincetown hasn’t capped the number of marijuana businesses that can come into town, but it does require that they be open for at least four hours a day, for at least four days a week, year-round. They are allowed one break a year, for as long as 30 consecutive days.

Whether Provincetown will be able to support seven businesses remains to be seen.

“The approach of the town has been let the market decide,” Panagore said.

Andrew Koudijs, the owner of Hennep, a retail marijuana store looking to open on Commercial Street, said he loves the town and saw the location as a way to get customers coming from across the state while on vacation.

Remaining open year-round will be tough, he said, but added, “I don’t see that being a big issue.”

Koudijs plans for his Provincetown location to be supplied by a 50,000-square-foot cultivation facility. He declined to give the potential location, but said it would not likely be on Cape.

Law school student Kyaire Wynn is applying to open Jean's Wellness, a medical and recreational dispensary that is working on securing a location on Bradford Street. The dispensary plans to also sell house-made edibles plus books, art and music, he said.

Wynn and his two co-COOs also bring a diversity sometimes absent from the budding marijuana industry. Wynn is African-American, as is one of his partners, chef James Atkins who has made marijuana-infused edibles for five years. The third partner, Aryana Arce, is Puerto Rican and has experience growing in California. All three of the founders met in college, Wynn said.

Verdant Medical is seeking its state license for a co-located medical and recreational facility on Captain Bertie's Way, CEO Tito Jackson said.

“Provincetown is awesome,” he said. “Provincetown is one of the most beautiful, empowered and honestly fun communities we have in the state of Massachusetts.”

The company has secured a special permit from the Planning Board. A neighbor has appealed the special permit, and Jackson said the company is committed to working with the community, throughout the regulatory process and after the opening.

Like any other business that comes to town, the marijuana companies will have the support of the Provincetown Chamber of Commerce and the Provincetown Business Guild.

“We hope that these pot shops, up to seven on deck, would bring a lot of business to town,” said Radu Luca, executive director of the chamber. Visitors could come for the day, eat in local restaurants, or even make a weekend out of it, he said.

Provincetown seems to be attractive to these companies because of the large pool of visitors, he said.

“From the chamber’s perspective, we hope that all businesses thrive.”

Likewise, the business guild, the town's LGBTQ business association, works with and supports all business in town, according to a statement.

"We are happy to see that the town is taking advantage of new economic growth opportunities now made possible at the state level,” the guild wrote. “We know there are a number of marijuana businesses slated to open soon. The market will determine the number of establishments in any business category that can thrive in our region.”

The other Outer Cape towns aren’t seeing the same number of businesses trying to open in their communities.

A medical dispensary in Eastham has a host community agreement and a special permit and is waiting for state approval. There have also been informal meetings between the town and a cultivator.

Truro has had no formal applications for a dispensary or a retailer, and three dispensaries are proposing to open in Wellfleet.

After seeing the traffic problems in Leicester at the grand opening of one of the first retail stores in the state, the town has talked about making sure it is able to mitigate those types of issues, should they occur.

The first shops could open by summer.

“We are very bullish about the opportunity in Provincetown,” Jackson said.

— Follow Ethan Genter on Twitter: @EthanGenterCCT.