Bucksport medical marijuana farm makes progress on code questions

Farm received license from Office of Cannabis Policy without local compliance but is cooperating with with town

Guo Xin Gardens has been in operation for over three years—it received state approval last year, but still lacks local licensing. Photo by John Boit.

May 13, 2026

By Emily Baer

BUCKSPORT—Town officials tabled a site plan review for Guo Xin Gardens, a medical marijuana grow operation on Rte. 46, during a planning board meeting on May 5 as they continue to wait for information about the operation from the applicants and their consultants.

Code enforcement officer Luke Chiavelli said he could not detect any odor from the cannabis plants during a recent site visit with Bucksport Fire Captain Pam Payson.

“There were no odor issues when we walked around [the property],” Chiavelli said. “It was raining that day, and I don't know whether that plays a role [in odor levels] but there were also less plants in there that day and I'm sure that comes in cycles.”

The cultivation site came into the spotlight last month after the town found out the operation had been given state approval to grow medical marijuana without securing local sign-off. Some of the things required by local officials include a security system, an odor control plan, and inspections by code enforcement and fire department officials.

Chiavelli said he intends to visit the property several more times in the near future to check for smells.

He also noted that Gaojin Gardens had installed additional air filters and completed upgrades to the electrical system, as he had requested during a previous site visit. In fact, most of the concerns Chiavelli and Payson had identified during previous visits have been addressed, he said.

Still, several lingering issues remain. Chiavelli said the proprietors still need to install backflow preventers to the water system and address the presence of mold in the building.

“The [home] was a duplex at one time and there's a spot in the middle [where it’s] open,” he said. “There is a deck with a roof over it, but it's open and water is getting in there. On the lower level the ceiling is all covered in mold, [and] that was the one concern that [Payson] had.

Chiavelli noted the continued challenge of working with the proprietor through a translator and said he did not know if Garrett Lower, owner of Pine State Code Solutions, LLC, is still working with Guo Xin Gardens as a consultant. During an April 7 planning board meeting, Lower had presented on behalf of the operators and told the board he was helping to bring them up to code.

The board will continue its review of Guo Xin Gardens during an upcoming planning board meeting and hope to have representatives from the business and a translator present to help facilitate the conversation.