By Paul Sylvain

Voting residents of Machias will have an opportunity to voice their opinions on future marijuana businesses in the shiretown at a special town meeting beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, at the Rose M. Gaffney School in Machias. 

Article 2 of the four-article warrant states simply, “To see if the Town will vote to put a moratorium on additional medical marijuana storefronts. A moratorium would delay acceptance of additional medical marijuana storefront applications.”

In recent months Town Manager Bill Kitchen and the town’s selectboard have been under pressure by local medical marijuana businesses to expand or replace the current medical marijuana ordinance to include so-called legal, or “recreational” marijuana sales. A town ordinance adopted in June last year allows only medical marijuana storefronts in Machias. 

At its Aug. 23 meeting, Machias Selectboard Chairman Jacob “Jake” Patryn recommended calling a six-month moratorium on any new applications for medical marijuana storefronts, with the intent of buying the board time to address the issue in detail. The board unanimously agreed to schedule a public hearing on the matter, but a date was not set until Sept. 1.

A six-month pause in accepting any new medical marijuana permit application was thought by the board to be sufficient time to draft a new ordinance and address related issues of zoning. The town of about 2,200 residents has little in the way of local zoning ordinances, as pointed out by Board Member Ben Edwards. Edwards, who is a Machias hemp and cannabidiol (CBD) medicinal products seller with a business on the East Kennebec Road, was elected to the board this past June. 

It was stressed at the board’s meeting that placing a six-month end date would in essence “draw a line in the sand” for the board to address the issue and require the board to present something to voters in 180 days. 

While the special meeting warrant article omits the six-month time limit from its language, state law limits moratoriums to six months. It can be extended beyond that by the board, but it would require another special town meeting to do so.

Other warrant articles to be acted on at the special town meeting amount to fiscal housekeeping. Article 3 asks to allow the town to have the first half of fiscal year 2023/2024 taxes due 30 days from the date of commitment.

Article 4, meanwhile, seeks permission to grant a two percent discount on any taxpayer's annual tax obligation if payment of their entire 2023 annual tax obligation is made with cash or check within 30 days of the date of commitment. Debit and credit card payments are excluded from the discount.