LIVERMORE FALLS — By consensus it was agreed at a public hearing on May 7 that a stakeholder committee will be formed and an attorney familiar with cannabis laws will help draft a new cannabis ordinance for the town.

Jill Cohen, an attorney with law firm Verrill in Portland and counsel for Fish Meadow Cannabis, will help draft an updated ordinance with input from committee members. Cannabis business owners agreed to pay for her time.

The Planning Board added recreational use regulations to the ordinance that covers medical cannabis. Among other things, the draft ordinance states licenses are not transferable, a recreational cannabis business must be 500 feet from any other recreational cannabis business, can’t be in the same building as a medical cannabis business and limits hours of operation for any cannabis operation as 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Cohen said the ordinance seemed consistent with those for towns of similar size, but she had some issues. The buffer restriction doesn’t allow for expansion of existing businesses, it should follow state law of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. for hours of operation and licenses should be transferable, she noted. She also asked that a dispensary category be added to the ordinance and that owners operating different types of cannabis businesses be allowed to have one license with the town instead of one for each.

“The base ordinance you have is pretty good,” Cohen said.

Dana Cummings, owner of medical cannabis business Sugar Kush USA, said he has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and is trying to make a buck like everybody else. He is doing things by the book and would like the book to be fair, he said. He pointed out that other businesses aren’t restricted to numbers allowed in town, and the market should decide the number of cannabis operations, he added.

Cummings suggested a subcommittee be formed that included cannabis owners so their thoughts are heard.

Mike Shea with Fish Meadow said the draft ordinance is the complete opposite of what a petition submitted to the town with over 700 signatures was seeking. It does not have 7 a.m. opening times and there’s no room for expansion, he said.

It was stated cannabis businesses in town employ more full time employees than Food City and Dollar General combined. It was also noted that people who smoke cannabis tend to spend money elsewhere, so cannabis can become a destination opportunity.

“I grew up here,” Cummings said. “This is one industry that is here and trying to grow. We are creating jobs, give back to the community.”

Robert Tarrant, owner of BJ’s Cannabis, said, “I am sick of the limitations that we are having against us.”

Chris Shea with Fish Meadow Cannabis supported transferable licenses. “Something can happen any day of the week,” he said, and asked if something happened to the Planning Board members wouldn’t they want their business to continue.

Cannabis owners pointed to drug use in the area and that alcohol can be purchased at any time of day.

Arin Quintel, an alternate for the Planning Board, said cannabis businesses are controversial and that there have been complaints. She noted everybody should be listened to and work together.

Ann Moffett, a Spruce Mountain Middle School student, said there is a lot of cannabis abuse in her school and the high school. She said some students get it from their parents and there is a lot of anger at her school. “It is very unsafe there,” she said. “People are endangering their kids.”

“You raised a lot of good points,” Cohen responded. Some products aren’t regulated, she said. “You can’t control the parents.”

“We regulate. You have to have everything in order to buy from us,” Cummings said.

Select Board Chair William Kenniston said he smoked cannabis until three years ago, and said medical cannabis has lots of good uses. People can become dependent on it, he said. Children may not have the same results and that is on the parents giving it, he stated.

Planning Board alternate Michelle Moffett, who is also on the Regional School Unit 73 board of directors, spoke of a recent survey done in Franklin County which reported the number of youth admitting to using cannabis. She said the board would be remiss not to take that into consideration for possible cannabis business expansion and that the school district should be part of the discussion.

Cannabis use has dropped 35% in Colorado and Washington, the states where cannabis has been legal the longest, Cohen stated.

Town Manager Carrie Castonguay apologized for not following up on the petition. She said she felt pumping the brakes on the ordinance changes was a phenomenal idea.