Sedgwick voters reject plan for marijuana dispensary

GSA supplemental tuition also approved

March 12, 2026

By Trricia Thomas

SEDGWICK—Voters in Sedgwick have rejected a plan to site a marijuana dispensary in the town. A total of 212 votes were cast on the balloted referendum question during municipal elections on March 6, with 127 people voting “no,” and 85 voting “yes.”

The rejection is the second in less than a year for Sedgwick resident Brian Sherwell, who hoped to open a recreational dispensary later this year. Last November, voters in Blue Hill denied—760 to 582—a similar referendum.

Sherwell told Sedgwick residents at a Feb. 4 information meeting on his plan that, while he was disappointed in the Blue Hill vote, it allowed him and wife Abril to consider siting a shop closer to home.

“We talked about it. We re-centered, and we said ‘let’s bring it home.’  This is where we wanted to have it originally. We forced ourselves to look, for economic reasons, elsewhere, but now we’re where we want to be, and we want to make sure we’re wanted,” Sherwell said at the meeting.

Sherwell said he planned to sell Maine-made recreational cannabis products in leaf and processed form, including gummies, tinctures and ointments, and likened the proposed shop to other small businesses run by residents in the town.

“I see a lot of people of my generation that are returning to the area, coming here and starting new businesses, and I want to be part of that too,” Sherwell said. “I think this could be a good cornerstone that could draw a lot of people to the town and make opportunities for other businesses to happen.”

Sherwell, who was born in Blue Hill and moved back to the peninsula about two years ago, also touted the safety and efficacy of the products he planned to sell, and said that a town ordinance following a successful vote would put guardrails in place for the shop’s location and operations. 

Sherwell was unavailable for comment on the vote.

The recreational cannabis “opt in” question was one of two on the ballot on March 6. Voters approved—by 48 votes—a request from George Stevens Academy for an additional $1,530 per student in supplemental tuition for the town’s 31 students. The total cost to Sedwick taxpayers for the approved supplemental tuition, which is separate from public school costs, is $47,430.

For the sixth consecutive year, GSA has asked voters in sending towns, including Sedgwick, to approve supplemental tuition to close budget gaps resulting from declining enrollment at the private Blue Hill school. This year, GSA reduced its ask from $1,700 to $1,530 per student. Other towns already to have voted on the issue include Brooksville, which approved the supplemental tuition, and Penobscot, which rejected it.

“This year the Board committed to decreasing the supplemental tuition by 10% each of the following three years,” the school stated in a letter to residents that preceded the vote. “The supplemental tuition for the 2026-2027 school year is $1,530. Increased Maximum Allowable Tuition (MAT), enrollment numbers, and fundraised dollars are making this possible.”

Voters in Sedgwick also elected unopposed candidate Susan Ford to a three-year term on the town’s select board, and chose Laura Davis over Tiffany MacDonald for one available seat on the school board. Davis received 97 votes while MacDonald got 76 votes. There also were 39 write-ins for the spot.