Skowhegan, ME Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

The Town of Skowhegan's Controlled Substance Facilities Ordinance, adopted June 13, 2016, defines a facility as the location of an operation to dispense methadone or other controlled substances, or to grow or dispense marijuana. Individual Registered Patients, licensed hospitals and pharmacies, and Registered Primary Caregivers under DHHS supervision are not governed by it.

The buffer is in item 3. A facility cannot locate within one thousand (1,000) feet of the property line of any pre-existing public or private school, or any safe zone designated by the Town under 30-A MRSA section 3253. The measure runs from the property line, not the building. The ordinance names the current safe zones: Bucky Quinn Ball Field on South Factory Street, Pat Quinn Ball Field on East Maple Street, Memorial Field on East Maple Street, Carl Wright Ball Fields at the Community Center, and the Community Center. A facility must also sit on US Route 201, on US Route 2 east of ME Route 150, or in Northgate Industrial Park or Southgate Industrial Park.

Item 4 bars any registered facility from the Shoreland Zone, a Floodplain or a Wetland. Item 5 treats a marijuana growing facility as primarily a nursery that must be fenced, completely enclosed and secured, and it cannot be or contain an open field or garden. Item 6 requires conformity with Site Plan Review Ordinance sections 3.A.3 (public safety), 3.A.5 (waste disposal and storage), 3.B (vehicle access and parking), 3.C.1 (exterior lighting) and 3.C.3 (buffering), with the Code Enforcement Officer conducting the reviews and inspections.

Adult-use retail is a different question. The Town's Ordinance Prohibiting Retail Marijuana Establishments and Retail Marijuana Social Clubs, adopted at the June 12, 2017 Annual Town Meeting, expressly prohibits retail marijuana stores, cultivation facilities, products manufacturing facilities, testing facilities and social clubs in the Town, while stating that it does not prohibit lawful use, possession or conduct under the Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Act.