The Maryland General Assembly takes its first step toward cannabis regulation. Here’s what’s in the new bill.

February 8, 2023
AggregatedNews
Maryland
0 Comments

After months of anticipation, members of the General Assembly, lobbyists, business owners and potential license holders can finally start to pore over the details of how Maryland will enter the recreational cannabis industry.

House Ways and Means Chair Vanessa Atterbeary and Economic Matters Committee Chair C.T. Wilson have taken up the legislation in the House chamber, and Senate Finance Committee Chair Melony Griffith and Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee Chair Brian Feldman will seek to usher it through the Senate.

The bill is a whopping 88 pages. Here’s what you need to know about what’s inside:

A questionable timeline

Lawmakers are looking at an aggressive timeline to get the market up and running by July 1. That’s the date they picked last year, and that voters statewide approved in a November referendum. As of that date, Marylanders will be legally allowed to possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis and grow up to two plants per household.

But the draft of the bill indicates many of the details of the new industry won’t be settled until much later.

The plan, which is subject to change, would allow medical cannabis license holders to convert their licenses into joint medical and recreational cannabis licenses before July 1.

A round of new licenses would then be issued “on or before” Jan. 1. Those first licenses would be aimed specifically at diversifying the industry by getting them into the hands of business owners from areas that were “disproportionally impacted” by the war on drugs. It’s unclear, though, how soon before or after Jan. 1 those licenses would be issued. [Read More @ The Baltimore Sun]

This Post Has 0 Comments

Recent Stories

Japan’s cannabis market growing rapidly amid regulatory shift

Japan’s cannabis market expanded sixfold over four years to ¥24 billion ($154 million) in 2023, a trend that is expected to accelerate with the amendment in December of cannabis laws,…

Ispire Leads with a Focus on Safety and Innovation

Los Angeles-based Ispire Technologies (NASDAQ: ISPR) is a three-year-old company built on the foundation (and reputation) of a global enterprise with many years of experience as an ODM (original design…

Sacramento is ’cannabis capital of California,’ study says. What makes it a top weed city?

Sacramento is one of the best cities in the nation for cannabis fans, according to a new study. Real Estate Witch and Leafly, an online cannabis guide and marketplace, analyzed…

Two years after first legal cannabis sales, New Jerseyans still seek home cultivation

For the last two years, people have been able to stroll into New Jersey dispensaries to buy weed. But growing your own cannabis plant remains a third-degree felony. Despite a growing…