Farmington officials will hold a public hearing Tuesday before deciding whether to extend a moratorium on marijuana-related businesses as the town works on developing regulations.

The public hearing and subsequent vote by the Board of Selectmen will take place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Farmington Town Office.

If approved, the extension would add another 180 days on to a moratorium approved by residents at the annual Town Meeting last March that banned retail marijuana establishments, social clubs and new medical marijuana businesses for six months to give the town time to write rules governing those establishments.

Farmington Town Manager Richard Davis said the town is hoping to have an ordinance regulating marijuana-related businesses ready to present to residents at this March’s Town Meeting and that some of the reason for the delay is it’s taken the state longer than expected to come up with their own regulations.

Farmington is among several communities who have used moratoriums to buy time and develop regulations around the marijuana industry since Maine voted to legalize the sale and production of recreational cannabis in November 2016.

“It’s hard to say until we actually experience them (whether there would be any potential problems),” Davis said. “Like any business, if it’s well-regulated, I don’t foresee any problems.”

Rachel Ohm — 612-2368

rohm@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @rachel_ohm

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