Voters in Boothbay Harbor will have the chance to decide which, if any, of the legal business uses of recreational marijuana will be permitted in the town of Boothbay Harbor on Nov. 7. To help voters learn more about different aspect of having commercial marijuana businesses in town, the board of selectmen and town manager have scheduled a panel presentation at the Boothbay Harbor town office on Tuesday, Oct. 24 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Under Maine’s new recreational marijuana law, there are five legal business uses for recreational marijuana:

• Cultivation and growth of marijuana plants;　
• Manufacturing of marijuana products;
• Commercial testing facilities;
• Retail sales; and
• Social clubs.

The Oct. 24 panel will focus on other issues beyond the new law that are important for voters to consider, such as the realities of operating commercial marijuana businesses, the impact of recreational marijuana businesses on law enforcement, and the effect on substance use on the community as well as other topics. The panelists include:

• Patricia Rosi, CEO of the Wellness Connection of Maine, which is the state’s largest group of medical marijuana dispensaries. Wellness Connection operates four state-licensed dispensaries and one growing facility.
• Kate Marone, director of Healthy Lincoln County. Kate oversees programs in nutrition, food security, and substance use prevention.
• Holly Stover, coordinator for the Boothbay Region Community Resource Council’s Addiction Outreach Program and executive director for Lincoln County Dental.
• Bob Hasch, chief of police, town of Boothbay Harbor.

The Marijuana Legalization Act gives municipalities substantial control of commercial marijuana activities, ranging from prohibiting all commercial activity to allowing some or all of the five legal uses. Depending on the outcome of November’s vote, the planning board will need to develop new ordinances to regulate and monitor any of these new recreational marijuana commercial businesses that might be approved by the voters.