Twelve more dispensaries in Maryland were given the green light to sell to patients yesterday, but Medical Cannabis Commission Chairman Bryan Lopez told the Baltimore Sun that “product is limited.”
The approvals more than double the number of dispensaries currently operating in the state. So far, more than 18,000 patients have registered with the state with 5,000 more applications pending, according to the report. The state has licensed 14 cultivators to serve a total of 102 dispensaries throughout the state; however, just 22 are currently operating and 60 more are awaiting finalization. So far, 712 doctors have signed up to participate in the program, which was delayed nearly five years.
In interviews with the Washington Post earlier this month, several dispensaries shared their retail prices, ranging from $400 to $680 per ounce, but the managers and owners suggested that prices would be reduced – perhaps within six months.
The state’s market could be subject to more changes before current operators are stabilized, as members of the Legislative Black Caucus announced last month they were drafting a bill to award 10 new medical cannabis cultivator and processor licenses for African-American entrepreneurs after they were shut out of the companies awarded licenses. Two would-be medical cannabis companies are also suing the state, accusing officials of arbitrarily denying them licenses.