When talk of legalizing marijuana at the state level started a decade ago, many advocates and lawmakers were focused on how the programs would work and how much revenue they’d bring in. Now, those conversations have shifted: how can the programs and revenue work for Black and brown communities that have been most impacted by […]
Maryland
Marijuana legalization proposed in Maryland Legislature
A bill essentially legalizing recreational use of cannabis in Maryland would be an important step toward addressing social equity and racial injustices, advocates said. “This is the year we are talking about equity,” Del. Jazz Lewis, D-Prince George’s, sponsor of the bill, said at a Wednesday House Judiciary Committee hearing Capital News Service viewed. “And […]
Baltimore County neighbors want restrictions on industrial hemp farming
Some Baltimore County residents have complained for months of an overpowering stench coming from an industrial hemp farm. They said the odor would cling to their clothes, cause headaches and drift through open windows. The farm, tucked off Broadway Road between Greenspring Avenue and Falls Road, reeked from late July or early August until early […]
Medical marijuana brought more than $10 million in tax revenue to Maryland in FY 2019
Medical marijuana produced more than $10 million in tax revenue for Maryland in FY 2019 – exceeding the amount of money the industry brought to state coffers during the previous two fiscal years combined, according to data provided by the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission. The latest numbers cover the period that ended on June 30, 2019. […]
Former Md. lawmaker Cheryl Glenn charged with bribery, fraud
Veteran Maryland lawmaker Cheryl D. Glenn built her reputation in Annapolis fighting to legalize medical marijuana and trying to ensure that minorities secured licenses to participate in the multibillion-dollar industry. She was the lead sponsor of the bill that created Maryland’s medical cannabis program, an effort she said was inspired by her late mother, who […]
Legalizing recreational marijuana in Maryland not likely in 2020: ‘We are still in the investigative mode’
The prospect of legalizing recreational marijuana use in Maryland is growing dim for 2020. While there’s growing acceptance for adult use of the drug, and some see it as a potential source of money to boost spending on public schools, state lawmakers appear not quite ready to legalize the sale and use of marijuana for […]
You Can Get A Master’s In Medical Cannabis In Maryland
Summer Kriegshauser is one of 150 students in the inaugural class of the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s Master of Science in Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics, the first graduate program of its type in the country. This will be Kriegshauser’s second master’s degree and she hopes it will offer her a chance to change careers. “I […]
The East Coast’s first outdoor, commercial cannabis harvest is underway
Out in the East Coast’s first commercial marijuana field last week, hundreds of “frosted” marijuana flowers glistened, the fall light dancing off the lucrative cannabis oils. The gamble had paid off. Nearly an acre of carefully tended marijuana plants had delivered something far from guaranteed: a commercial-scale harvest cultivated outdoors in a climate ill-suited for […]
Medical marijuana regulators stall industry expansion amid complaints of unfairness
Maryland’s medical marijuana regulators abruptly stalled a planned market expansion on Thursday after one company sued them and an influential group of state lawmakers separately complained of “impropriety.” The delay prolongs a three-year effort to enhance diversity among medical marijuana wholesalers and raises new questions about whether laws passed to remedy past regulatory missteps are […]
A bigger crop: Why Maryland’s medical pot growers are adding more plants
WARWICK, Md. — The air inside SunMed Growers’ sprawling, $10 million marijuana greenhouse was thick with the citrusy aroma of freshly harvested Lemon Skunk. Outside, heavy machinery cleared land for about 30,000 additional plants. “This is tripling for medical,” said owner Jake Van Wingerden, a former chairman of the Maryland Wholesale Medical Cannabis Trade Association. “We’re […]