Comment on Future for marijuana businesses in Orono still up in the air

Orono’s town councilors still haven’t decided whether to allow commercial marijuana operations in town, but they’re looking at rules they might need to have on the books if they ultimately decide to allow them. Commercial operations would include marijuana cultivation sites, businesses that manufacture marijuana products including edibles and oils, labs that test the plants and marijuana-derived products, and retail shops. A council committee on Thursday night heard examples of zoning ordinances they could adopt to regulate marijuana establishments as a debate played out among residents at the meeting over whether the town should allow the businesses at all. “What I heard from the town council is we’re not interested in making a final decision yet but we would like you to create a framework to see what it looks like if we were to opt in,” said David Milan, Orono’s economic development director. Council members asked Milan for more information about restricting commercial marijuana use near child care providers and nursery schools.