Advances in cannabis plan for adult use in Maryland

Maryland is moving closer to a plan to establish its adult cannabis market after making some changes to iron out potential issues.

Voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot referendum last year that legalized the possession of up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis for adults, which will be legalized on July 1. But the state has yet to implement final rules to regulate the market.

On Monday, the Maryland Senate Finance Committee approved the version of Senate Law 516, a bill creating the state’s adult market, with several amendments. The planned administrative authority will no longer be merged with the state alcohol and tobacco control authority.

The committee voted to create an independent Maryland Cannabis Administration to regulate the adult use industry. She would work separately from the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. Both the original Senate and House bills proposed adding the Cannabis Commission as a division to the already existing Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, but that plan fell through.

The legislature also adjusted the tax plan. Instead of introducing a graduated sales tax that starts at 6% and eventually ramps up to 10% by 2028, increasing incrementally by 1% each year, the state would introduce a flat 9% sales tax once adult-use cannabis becomes legal on July 1.

The Baltimore Sun reports that the bill is in its final steps before it can be sent to the governor.

Lawmakers must approve the bill before the state’s annual 90-day session ends on April 10. “We have something to tell the governor,” Melony Griffith, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said at the committee meeting.

The House version of the bill, House Bill 556, was introduced earlier this month and is now awaiting a full Senate vote.

DCist reports that both the House and Senate versions aim to address the issues surrounding the launch of the state’s medicinal cannabis industry. Maryland legalized medicinal cannabis in 2014 but has been hit by a series of setbacks. When the industry finally took off, not a single Black-owned company was included in the first round of licensing, even though Black residents make up nearly a third of the state’s population.

Maryland’s March on Cannabis Use by Adults

Voters approved Question 4 or the Marijuana Legalization Amendment on November 8, 2022. The passage of this initiative amends the Maryland Constitution with Article XX permitting the possession and use of cannabis by adults 21 and older beginning July 1, 2023. The amendment also directed the Maryland General Assembly to “for the use, distribution, to provide for the possession, regulation and taxation of cannabis within the state”.

Two accompanying bills to grant licenses, regulate the sale of cannabis and set tax rates were introduced Feb. 3 in both the Maryland House and Senate. Maryland delegates Vanessa Atterbeary (D-District 13) and CT Wilson (D-District 28) sponsored the House bill, and Sens. Brian Feldman (D-District 15) and Antonio Hayes (D-District 40) sponsored the Senate version .

An upcoming round of new licenses for growers, processors and distributors would be introduced on January 1, 2024 for social justice applicants, defined as those who have lived or attended a school in an area disproportionately affected by the war on drugs. Another licensing round would be introduced after May 1, 2024.

The plan provides for licenses for up to 300 pharmacies, 100 processors and 75 producers. Smaller micro farms would receive additional licenses for 200 dispensaries, 100 processors and 100 growers.

Now the Senate version of the bill will go to the Budget and Taxation Committee before the full Senate vote.

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