MARSHALL — The topic of cannabis will be coming back in front of Lyon County Commissioners later this year – this time, the county is looking at ordinances governing cannabis businesses.

On Tuesday, county officials and Commissioner Todd Draper said they would form a committee to work on drafting a cannabis business ordinance. County Administrator Loren Stomberg said the group’s goal would be to have a draft ordinance by the end of the year.

Over the past year, local governments have been waiting for the state of Minnesota to come out with rules for cannabis-related businesses. Those rules are gradually becoming more clear, Stomberg said. “One of the things that we probably should be working on right away would be an ordinance for the county,” he said.

Under state laws, local governments can’t ban licensed cannabis businesses. However, they can do things like set restrictions on where cannabis businesses can operate, and require them to register with local government.

If Lyon County approves ordinances governing cannabis businesses, cities and townships in the county could either use the county ordinances, or create their own, Stomberg said. So far, the city of Marshall has already passed its own ordinance regulating businesses that sell low-potency THC edibles, and passed a temporary moratorium on sales of more potent cannabis products in the city.

Lyon County has already passed some ordinances regulating cannabis use. Last year, county commissioners voted to prohibit the use of cannabis products in public places in Lyon County. The list of places considered public or open to the public included parks, streets and sidewalks, as well as places like stores, bars and restaurants. Under the county ordinance, using cannabis products in places where a minor could inhale the smoke or vapor is also prohibited.

Stomberg suggested having different county staff members work on drafting a cannabis business ordinance.

“I see a lot of it as coming from the planning and zoning side,” he said. In addition to himself, Stomberg said Lyon County Planning and Zoning Administrator John Biren and Lyon County Attorney Abby Wikelius should be part of the group.

Commissioner Todd Draper also volunteered to be part of the committee.

“We certainly wouldn’t be working in a vacuum,” Stomberg said. “We would be contacting our partners. Public Health may have some input to it, obviously the cities and townships, we need to give them an opportunity to give input to it.”

Representatives of Southwest Health and Human Services said there was a template ordinance available that would help with creating a draft county ordinance.

“We want to work with everybody we can to get this right the first time,” Commissioner Gary Crowley said.

Stomberg said the goal would be to have a draft cannabis ordinance by the end of the year.