Cannabis Archives

2024 Issue Preview: Cannabis Regulation

With the 2024 Legislative Session rapidly approaching, MACo is profiling some significant issues that stand to gather attention in the General Assembly. Ambiguous restrictions on local zoning, incommensurate revenue sharing, public health, and public safety are all top of mind for county governments. As previously reported on Conduit Street, as of July 1, adult-use cannabis is legal under Maryland law. All existing medical dispensaries (approximately 100 locations statewide) have converted their licenses and can sell…

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December 28, 2023

Read more about the article Cannabis Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund: County-By-County Allocations

Source: Office of Social Equity

Cannabis / County News / Taxes and Revenues

Cannabis Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund: County-By-County Allocations

This week, the Office of Social Equity released the Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund Survey Results Report, which provides insight into the preferences shared by Maryland residents regarding which type of community-based services and organizations should be the primary beneficiaries of the fund. The report also includes the percentage of the total amount that local jurisdictions will be allocated from the fund. As previously reported on Conduit Street, Maryland imposes a 9 percent state sales…

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December 21, 2023

Cannabis / News You Can Use

Social Equity Cannabis Business Licensing Round Closes

More than 1,700 applications were submitted across all license categories. The initial business licensing round for new cannabis growers, processors, and dispensaries closed on December 12, with more than 1,700 applications submitted across all three license categories. This application round marked the first cannabis licensing round in the nation that was exclusively open to qualifying social equity applicants. A social equity applicant is an applicant that has at least 65 percent ownership and control held…

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December 13, 2023

Agriculture / Cannabis / Economic Development / Housing and Community Development / Intergovernmental Relations

USDA Forces Farmers to Choose Between Hemp or Cannabis

The US Department of Agriculture is increasingly revoking the hemp licenses of farmers who grow cannabis in states where it is legal. Farmers who grow both cannabis and hemp are reporting that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has taken the aggressive approach of revoking hemp licenses. This move comes as more than half of Americans now live in states that legalized cannabis despite the federal prohibition. Farmers who receive their licenses from state-run hemp…

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November 29, 2023

Cannabis / County News / Public Safety and Corrections / Taxes and Revenues / Winter Conference

Lunch and Learn about Cannabis with the Large County Coalition at #MACoCon

The Large County Coalition's luncheon at the MACo Winter Conference will focus on cannabis. Maryland is now several months into implementing the legalization of adult-use cannabis products. In October, collective adult-use and medical cannabis purchases reached nearly $90 million, just short of the $91 million total for September — which was more than double the $42.7 million total for June, before the launch of adult-use retail sales, according to the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA). While…

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November 21, 2023

Cannabis / County News / News You Can Use

Maryland Adult-Use Cannabis Sales Reach New High

In October, collective adult-use and medical cannabis purchases reached nearly $90 million, just short of the $91 million total for September — which was more than double the $42.7 million total for June, before the launch of adult-use retail sales, according to the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA). While overall sales of legal cannabis dipped slightly in October compared to the prior month, sales of adult-use products reached a new high. All told, licensed retailers…

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November 10, 2023

Cannabis / County News / MACo Events / News You Can Use / Taxes and Revenues

MD Cannabis Sales Exceed $90 Million in September

In September, collective adult-use and medical cannabis purchases reached $91 million, just short of the $91.7 million total for August — which was more than double the $42.7 million total for June, before the launch of adult-use retail sales, according to the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA). As previously reported on Conduit Street, as of July 1, adult-use cannabis is legal under Maryland law. Nearly all existing medical dispensaries (approximately 100 locations statewide) have converted their licenses…

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October 9, 2023

Cannabis / County News / General Assembly News / Planning and Zoning

Here’s the County-By-County Breakdown of the 179 Cannabis Business Licenses Available Later This Year

Application round exclusively for social equity applicants opens in November. The Maryland Cannabis Administration announced that the first application round for cannabis business licenses opens on November 13. More than 175 standard and micro cannabis grower, processor, and dispensary licenses available in the first round are exclusive to social equity applicants. A social equity applicant is an applicant that has at least 65 percent ownership and control held by one or more individuals who lived…

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September 11, 2023

Cannabis / Health and Human Services / NACo and Federal Issues / Taxes and Revenues

Top US Health Officials Recommend Moving Cannabis to Lower-Risk Tier

After completing an almost year-long evaluation of cannabis's current status as a Schedule 1 substance, the US Department of Health and Human Services recommended to the Drug Enforcement Administration that cannabis be moved from Schedule I to Schedule III. While the DEA has the final say on such a change, the HHS recommendation is significant. Reclassification is a step short of legalizing the drug entirely. Still, it would mark a critical shift away from cannabis's…

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September 6, 2023

Cannabis / County News / Taxes and Revenues

Maryland Cannabis Sales Eclipse $90 Million in August

In August, collective adult-use and medical cannabis purchases reached $91.7 million, more than the $87.4 million total for July -- which was more than double the $42.7 million total for June, before the launch of adult-use retail sales, according to the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA). As previously reported on Conduit Street, as of July 1, adult-use cannabis is legal under Maryland law. Nearly all existing medical dispensaries (approximately 100 locations statewide) have converted their licenses and…

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September 5, 2023