BRUNSWICK

The town council voted Monday to set a public hearing May 15 on the town’s moratorium on retail marijuana stores, facilities and social clubs.

The town’s current moratorium expires May 20 and can be extended. All councilors voted in favor of the hearing with the exception of Vice Chairman Kathy Wilson.

The consensus of the town’s marijuana ordinance working group, which has been working on gathering information to make recommendations to the council on how to proceed with drafting local law, is that without knowing how the state may choose to amend the referendum law, it is difficult to make specific suggestions to the council.

The citizens’ initiative makes it legal for adults 21 and older to buy up to 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana, and tend six mature plants for personal use. That portion of the law became effective in January. The second part of the referendum allows the sale of edible pot and social clubs or hangouts where marijuana would be consumed, but a municipality can ban both.

In January, the Legislature approved a moratorium on implementing the retail and taxation piece of the law until at least February 2018 in an effort to resolve legal issues surrounding the full implementation of the law. A special committee, led by Sen. Roger Katz of Augusta, has formed to address the complexities of the law. Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level. The group will likely suggest the council wait to draft an ordinance until the state makes a decision, in February 2018.

At a meeting last week, the group focused on recommending an all-out ban, with a sunset provision built in to expire four months after the state adopts the law, giving the town additional time to finalize its own ordinance with specific requirements. The state law will likely be more restrictive than what was passed by the initiative, Brunswick Police Cmdr. Mark Waltz said.