Maryland
Top Maryland Marijuana Regulator Explains How The State So Quickly Implemented Sales After Voters Approved Legalization
A top Maryland marijuana regulator says the state’s proactive approach to legalizing cannabis has allowed it to implement a system that effectively balances three key priorities: safety, access and equity.
When the state’s legalization law took effect at the beginning of the month, nearly 100 existing medical marijuana dispensaries were already approved to start serving adult consumers. And a testament to the success of the rollout is the fact that Maryland retailers sold over $10 million worth of legal cannabis in the opening weekend.
Maryland Cannabis Administration’s (MCA) Andrew Garrison says that the state uniquely prepared for the reform, with the legislature forming a work group well ahead of voters approving a legalization referendum last November and officials taking steps like visiting Colorado to tour dispensaries as they contemplated their own regulatory framework.
There was “a lot of thoughtful consideration that went into the broader adult-use policy when it finally got dropped,” Garrison, who serves as chief of MCA’s Office of Policy & Government Affairs, said during an interview on the Rootwurks and VS Strategies podcast Weed Wonks, adding that the early work by lawmakers enabled officials to roll out a program within 82 days of the legislature enacting a cannabis regulations bill.
Garrison also stressed the importance of ensuring that equity is a “really key component of everything going forward.” To that end, the legalization law created a new independent Office of Social Equity within MCA to focus on it. Gov. Wes Moore (D) made a first series of appointments to that office on Monday.
Part of the strategy to build equity into the market is to collect licensing conversion fees from existing dispensaries that want to serve adult consumers and putting those dollars into a community reinvestment fund that will be used to support new business applicants in areas of the state that have been disproportionately impacted by prohibition. Garrison estimates that the state will generate about $60 million in conversion fees to fulfill that goal.
The first round of new marijuana business licenses in Maryland have been reserved exclusively for social equity applicants, which is “something that I think builds off of and learns from what has worked in other states when contemplating social equity,” he said.
“Maryland’s a really diverse state. And there’s a lot of there’s a lot of communities in particular that have had this disproportionate cannabis enforcement really up into this point,” he said. “And we want to make sure that the folks who are getting access on the market side early before the social equity businesses come online are—that the legislature wanted to make sure that they paid their dues, and that that it goes to the communities that that we’re the most disadvantaged.”
Notably, the state has also mandated that retailers further promote equity by requiring that at least 25 percent of their shelves are stocked with cannabis products from companies that are owned by equity licensees.
“The dispensaries will have to be stocking their products to make sure that we don’t have just vertically integrated firms just selling their products—continuing to make sure that there’s a path to market for these non-vertically integrated firms,” he said. “And then that also continues back up the supply chain as well.”
Also, the state Department of Commerce (DOC) announced last week that it will be opening applications for $40 million in grant funding to social equity applicants with pre-approval starting on August 1.
Regulators have already been accepting applications to provide grants through the same fund to help existing medical marijuana businesses convert into dual licensees that can serve the adult-use market.
Another key consideration that went into Maryland’s legalization law is patient access, making sure that those who’ve been involved in the state’s existing medical cannabis program don’t see their access to medicine disrupted after adult-use sales launch.
Retailers have two options to that end: they can reserve specific hours of operation every day exclusively for patients, or they can create “fast lanes” at their stores where there are registers that only patients can use.
“This is an interesting piece that Maryland is also doing is, you know, while patient access really is in the forefront, the supply chain is saying the same,” he said. “We’re not having medical plants and adult-use plants. It’s really going down to the point of sale.”
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As regulators monitor the first month of recreational marijuana sales, Garrison says officials are also actively working on a “cleanup bill” to adjust regulations that he expects will be taken up by the legislature during the next session.
MCA will be holding what they describe internally as “limited town halls” with stakeholder groups, including dispensaries, growers and patient advocates in late summer and early fall to develop permanent regulations. That process will also involve public comment periods once the draft rules are ready to be published.
Meanwhile, a separate Maryland law also took effect this month that prevents police from using the odor or possession of marijuana alone as the basis of a search. Yet another law that went into force makes it so the lawful and responsible use of cannabis by parents and guardians cannot be construed by state officials as child “neglect.”
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A 16-year-old student at a high school in Maryland has been detained after he allegedly shot and killed a 15-year-old student in one of the school’s bathrooms.
The name of the suspect has yet to be released. The victim, Warren Curtis Grant, died following the shooting at Joppatowne High School. Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler made the announcement at a press briefing.
The suspect fled the scene but was detained close by just minutes later.
“He has yet to be charged but will be charged, and at the time those charges are preferred as an adult, we will release the name of the suspect,” Gahler told the press, according to The Guardian.
The sheriff added that his office has handled more than 10 cases in the last two years “where the suspect was either the victim, witness or the suspect in an incident handled by the Harford county sheriff’s office.”
While the sheriff’s office told the public to avoid the area after the shooting, it said that it was an “isolated incident, not an active shooter.”
An “active shooter” situation refers to when a suspect is firing against everyone they see rather than targeting a particular person.
An area church was used as a reunification center for students and their parents. The school is located about 20 miles northeast of Baltimore.
Gahler noted that more than 100 law enforcement officials responded to the scene.
The fight at Joppatowne High School took place just two days after the shooting at a high school outside Atlanta, Georgia where a 14-year-old shot and killed four people.
Michigan State got the job done in its season opener, but it wasn’t pretty as it hung on at home against Florida Atlantic. Now, it has to head on the road to open Big Ten play in what promises to be a tougher test.
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Michigan State is 1-0, but the road gets tougher now. The Spartans go on the road and start Big Ten play early in Week 2 with a trip to Maryland. The Terrapins have a new look this year without quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa but looked strong in their season-opener against Howard last week.
· Who: Michigan State at Maryland
· When: 3:30 p.m.
· Where: SECU Stadium, College Park, Maryland
· Twitter: Follow Matt Wenzel
· Live updates: Beginning at 2:30 p.m. at mlive.com/spartans
· Latest line: Maryland -9.5
TV Network: Big Ten Network
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Five must-reads before kickoff:
* Michigan State lost two members of its secondary, Dillon Tatum and Khalil Majeed, to long-term injuries in its season opener. The team is turning to some new faces to fill in the holes from those injuries.
* Alex VanSumeren was once Michigan State’s top-rated recruit, but he’s been seldom seen on the field due to injuries. Now, though, he’s healthy and making his mark on the Spartans’ defensive line.
* Aidan Chiles’ 10-completion, two-interception performance in Michigan State’s season-opener was his “floor,” according to offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren, who has a plan to improve the quarterback’s performance going forward.
* Jonathan Smith had a name for Week 1 in college football: overreaction Saturday. He’s cautioning fans not to put too much stock into an opening performance that likely underwhelmed many.
* The run game and discipline are two of Matt Wenzel’s five things to watch in this week’s matchup.
Michigan State
* Passing: Aidan Chiles 10-14, 114 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT
* Rushing: Kay’ron Lynch-Adams 9 rush, 101 yards, 1 TD
* Receiving: Michael Masunas 2 rec., 29 yards, 0 TD
* Tackles: Angelo Grose 12
* Sacks: Khris Bogle 1.5
* Interceptions: Grose, Nikai Martinez 1
Maryland
* Passing: Billy Edwards Jr. 20-27, 311 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
* Rushing: Roman Hemby 14 rush, 66 yards, 1 TD
* Receiving: Tai Felton 7 rec., 178 yards, 2 TD
* Tackles: Glendon Miller 6
* Sacks: None
* Interceptions: Ruben Hyppolite II, Miller 1
Friday, Sept. 6
Western Illinois at Indiana
Duke at Northwestern
Saturday, Sept. 7
Texas at Michigan, noon (FOX)
Rhode Island at Minnesota, noon (Peacock)
Bowling Green at Penn State, noon (BTN)
Akron at Rutgers, noon (BTN)
Iowa State at Iowa, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
Michigan State at Maryland, 3:30 p.m. (BTN)
Eastern Michigan at Washington, 3:30 p.m. (BTN)
South Dakota at Wisconsin, 3:30 p.m. (FS1)
Kansas at Illinois, 7 p.m. (FS1)
Colorado at Nebraska, 7:30 p.m. (NBC)
Western Michigan at Ohio State, 7:30 p.m. (BTN)
Boise State at Oregon, 10 p.m. (Peacock)
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Michigan State has an excellent chance to make a strong statement this weekend that the rebuilding job under new head coach Jonathan Smith is ahead of schedule, if the Spartans can take down 8-point favorite Maryland on Saturday.
A Michigan State victory would be a strong statement within the football industry, but maybe not as strong from a fan perspective. I’m not sure Maryland’s football brand is as respected in the state of Michigan and regionally as it should be, for a program that has gone 8-5 in the past two seasons and defeated Auburn and North Carolina State in bowl games the past two years.
Maryland is good. The Terrapins are coming off a 50-7 victory over a weak UConn team last week. Maryland’s offense looked very good against a weak, soft, conservative UConn defense.
Michigan State’s defense was ahead of schedule last week against a mediocre Florida Atlantic offense. Michigan State’s offense was behind schedule, experiencing inconsistent accuracy and decision-making at the quarterback position, which was somewhat understandable considering it was sophomore Aidan Chiles’ first start as a college player. MSU’s running game also lacked consistency, especially in short yardage and in the red zone.
The big news from Maryland last week in my opinion was the excellent play of new starting quarterback Billy Edwards. The 6-foot-3, 222-pound redshirt-junior had waited behind the outgoing, record-breaking Taulia Tagovailoa for three years. Tagovailoa left Maryland as the Big Ten’s all-time passing leader. He went undrafted and is now playing in the CFL.
Edwards looked good last week. He’s strong in the pocket, is a physical ball carrier on designed runs or scrambles. He was accurate over the middle on intermediate routes, and seemed to do a good job processing coverages, although UConn’s coverages were simple, slow and soft.
I saw this Michigan State vs Maryland game as a swing game on the schedule prior to the season. But considering how well Edwards and his receivers looked last week, and Michigan State’s sputtering start on offense, this game goes from being a swing game to uphill slog for the Spartans.
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