“There’s not a science to this, really” for how far a marijuana business should have to be from a school, Wiscasset Ordinance Review Committee Chair Karl Olson told fellow members over Zoom Monday night. “It’s how you feel about how far or how close you want them.”

And that will be up to selectmen, he said. The ORC is drafting a marijuana ordinance for selectmen to consider, then voters. The ORC had eyed buffers for schools, daycares and churches. But its review of state marijuana rules Monday found none saying a church needs a buffer. So Olson will pull churches from a Route 1 map he made. And members further mulled a buffer’s potential radius. They said the state calls for 1,000 feet and lets towns go as low as 500 feet. 

Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission’s Emily Rabbe said Damariscotta officials will meet with the ORC March 28. She suggested the panel ask some questions ahead to help the officials prepare. The ORC could ask how Damariscotta came up with a radius, she said.

Members also started eying what the would-be ordinance might state on caregiving. “Sounds like we have some research to do here,” Olson said.