Orland medical marijuana farm seeks belated municipal approval

Farm received license from Office of Cannabis Policy but without local compliance

Bucksport planning board discusses Guo Xin Gardens during an April 7 meeting. Screenshot from Town of Bucksport livestream.

April 14, 2026

By Emily Baer

ORLAND—For years, Orland resident Steve Howard thought the smell of marijuana outside his home was just a neighbor’s habit. It wasn’t: The Route 46 property next door to Howard’s has been operating as a medical marijuana grow site—without the local license the town requires—for the last three years.

During the Bucksport planning board meeting on April 7, Code Enforcement Officer Luke Chiavelli told the board that he had received an email notification from the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy alerting him that Guo Xin Gardens had been approved to operate the site as a medical marijuana farm, despite lacking municipal sign-off.

After learning of the approval, Chiavelli tried contacting the operators to tell them that they still needed to comply with local rules.

Garrett Lower, owner of Pine State Code Solutions, LLC, speaks to the board on behalf of Guo Xin Gardens. Screenshot from Town of Bucksport livestream.

“It was a bugger to get a hold of them but once I finally [did] they were very responsive,” he told the board. “They have been working with me to try and get everything that they need.”

Among the top items needed to secure municipal compliance are a security system, odor control plan, and inspections completed by both Chiavelli and the Fire Department.

Chiavelli said a recent inspection with Orland Fire Captain Pam Payson turned up several issues but that all could be “easily fixed.”

Garrett Lower, owner of Pine State Code Solutions, LLC, is working as a consultant with Guo Xin Gardens to help bring them up to code and represented the operators during the board meeting.

“What I'm here to do is basically to help these people come into compliance with town ordinances,” he said, noting the language barrier between Chiavelli and the operators. Lower said he also worked with Guo Xin Gardens to “open a facility” in Skowhegan.

”When I came into the picture [there] it was kind of the same deal,” he said. “The code officer there said [the operators] are trying to do what's right but [there was a] lack of understanding of the full scope [of what was needed].”

The property is currently uninhabited but is split between grow rooms and living spaces. Lower and the operators say they’re working to comply with all local conditions and Chiavelli says he has seen good progress so far.

But for Howard — and others — the case raises a bigger question: how a commercial farm was able to operate in plain sight for years without local approval.

“There are a lot of deficiencies in the Office of Cannabis Policy’s rules and one of them is that they aren't required to notify the town prior to issuing a license,” Chiavelli said. “I’ve told the state they need to be better.”

With lingering questions about odor mitigation, the board voted to table the conversation until they had more information. They will consider the application again during their May meeting.