MACHIAS — A small number of voters at a special town meeting Wednesday, July 8, approved a six-month moratorium on cannabis establishment applications in Machias.
The pause allows town officials to gather public input, conduct research and propose updates to the ordinance passed in May 2024.
“I’ve got a list of ideas and things that I want to look into, and I’m going to get to work on that right away,” Select Board Chair Jake Patryn said during the board’s regular meeting, which immediately followed the vote.
Patryn urged other Select Board members to seek public feedback, adding that he hopes for more participation in the future.
Town Manager Sarah Craighead Dedmon said the unexpected death last month of Downeast Smoke and Vape owner Robert H. Boggia Jr. of Whiting triggered the moratorium by creating a unique regulatory situation.
“What we just experienced,” Vice Chairperson Ben Edwards said at the regular Select Board meeting, referring to Boggia’s death. “The state statutes around marijuana licenses do have language around the death of a licensee. We don’t.”
Boggia’s death spotlighted a lack of clarity in the town ordinance, prompting officials to propose the moratorium so they could review and update the regulations.
“Now that we’ve worked with the ordinance for two years, it seems appropriate to consider all aspects of the ordinance, which is what we will do through a series of public workshops and hearings, and with the guidance of our attorneys, Rudman Winchell, who will make sure our ordinance is compliant with any new rules and regulations that have been enacted since its passing,” Craighead Dedmon wrote in an email.
There are now five licensed medical cannabis shops in town, which is the maximum number of storefronts allowed for medical or adult use under the Machias ordinance.
The death of Boggia and the closure of Downeast Smoke and Vape at 28 Main St. have opened up one vacant license, provided the five-shop cap is not changed during the ordinance review process. A sign on the business’s door dated April 20, 2026, reads: “Closed until further notice. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
A telephone message seeking comment left at the number listed for Downeast Smoke and Vape was not returned.
“There’s a need for addressing how to handle a new license being applied for because we currently have five and we have one vacant,” Patryn said at the public hearing prior to the special town meeting.
During the hearing, a few cannabis shop owners spoke in favor of reducing the cap on stores.
Cody Reynolds, owner of Green Life Medical Cannabis Dispensary in Machias, warned that a larger company with deeper pockets could enter the local market and push out existing shops. He added that larger establishments have already approached him about buying his business.
“I personally believe that five cannabis shops in this small of a town is one too many,” David Finlay, owner of Indian Trail Farms, a medical cannabis dispensary in Machias, said. “I think four is a better solution, personally.”
The other two cannabis store license holders in town are Bold Coast Cannabis and Lake Smoke Farm.
Patryn noted his desire for public working sessions and more community input on the regulations to “really look at this ordinance and make sure that we’re doing the best for the town and for business owners in this town.”
“I don’t have a preferred outcome except what everyone’s preferred outcome is who I represent,” he said. “And I’m not getting that here tonight.”
The Machias Select Board will hold a public hearing at the town office at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 22 to consider a new liquor license, followed immediately by the regular Select Board meeting.
Correction: This story was updated July 10 correct the name of the individual that owns Green Life Medical Cannabis Dispensary.
