Maryland

Maryland’s Senate and House of Delegates passed a bill over the weekend to issue seven additional medical cannabis cultivation and 13 processing licenses, the Baltimore Sun reports. The bill includes language which would force regulators to consider race and barriers for minorities, including women, with the issuance of those licenses. The bill’s passage addresses the […]

Attorney generals from 17 states, Washington, D.C., and Guam have sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to “advance legislation that would allow states that have legalized medical or recreational use of marijuana to bring that commerce into the banking system” following Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ move to rescind the Cole Memo protections. […]

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 […]

Maryland’s first medical cannabis dispensaries opened Friday in Rockville and Cumberland – after nearly five years of bureaucracy and delays, the Washington Post reports. Five more dispensaries told the Post they expect to open shortly. Prices are sky-high. Allegany Medical Marijuana Dispensary, which opened in Cumberland, has indicated the price for an ounce is set […]

Members of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus are drafting a bill that would award 10 new medical cannabis grower and processor licenses specifically for African American entrepreneurs after none were granted licenses by the state Medical Cannabis Commission, the Star and Democrat reports. At least two African American-led medical cannabis companies have sued the commission […]

The director of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission has resigned less than a month before the Dec. 8 deadline for dispensaries to begin operation, according to a Baltimore Sun report. Patrick Jameson, a former state trooper who took over the role in April 2016, will remain at the post until the end of the month. […]

The lawsuit against the state of Maryland by two would-be medical cannabis companies will be allowed to proceed and the result could halt the state’s yet-to-launch regime, the Baltimore Sun reports. The plaintiffs, Maryland Cultivation and Processing and GTI Maryland, accuse the state of acting arbitrarily in denying them cultivation licenses. The lawsuit argues that the […]

Software provider OnePath Medical, which connects would-be medical cannabis patients with physicians to recommend its use, has expanded its services to Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania. The company, founded earlier this year, previously only served Washington D.C. and is the only firm offering the software solution on the East Coast. “People around the world recognize […]

Maryland’s first medical cannabis crop, grown by ForwardGro, has been sent to a testing laboratory; however, officials still do not yet have a timetable when it will be available for patients, the Baltimore Sun reports. The crop was sent to the lab to help calibrate its machines before it can be properly tested and made […]

Tikun Olam and MariMed Inc. have agreed to expand their partnership which will see Tikun-branded products rolled out in Rhode Island, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Illinois next year. The partnership brought the company’s products to Delaware in 2015. The companies expect to offer at least six Tikun-branded strains, including high-CBD strain Avidekel, along with tinctures, edibles, […]

The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy has scrapped its plan to offer medical cannabis certification courses, the Baltimore Sun reports. Alex Likowski, a university spokesman, indicated that the classes have been canceled after school officials consulted with the state’s attorney general’s office who said there was a risk associated with the plan due to […]

Israel-based medical cannabis company Panaxia has partnered with Canada’s Bioceutical Corporation to set up four medical cannabis production plants in Arizona, Nevada, Maryland, and Massachusetts, according to a report from Globes. Last year, Panaxia set up a similar production facility in New Mexico, which went online in March. The agreement will see Bioceutical Corp., which […]

Regulators in Maryland have approved final cultivation licenses for eight medical cannabis cultivation companies and some expect to begin growing immediately, while others anticipate it will take weeks to begin cultivation, the Baltimore Sun reports. There are still six companies that have received preliminary licenses awaiting final approval. Among those approved are Freestate Wellness, Curio […]

The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission is investigating potential conflicts of interest by those who reviewed the state’s medical cannabis applications after an investigation by the Washington Post discovered several of the “independent experts” had ties to companies whose applications they reviewed. The applications were reviewed by Towson University’s Regional Economics Studies Institute, who oversaw 20 […]

The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy will begin offering medical cannabis training for prospective industry operators in an effort to bring educational standards to the sector amid uncertain legal standing and ever-changing science, the Washington Post reports. The school joins the University of Vermont College of Medicine’s Department of Pharmacology in offering a medical […]

Maryland’s first medical cannabis dispensary has been approved by the state Medical Cannabis Commission to open immediately and, although products will not be available for months, the owner of the Wellness Institute of Maryland said the organization will begin seeing patients today and taking pre-orders, the Baltimore Sun reports. “We are fully equipped to deliver […]

The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission is seeking to revoke the preliminary license of MaryMed LLC due to concerns about the company’s former parent company Vireo Health, according to a Baltimore Sun report. The commission said there was a “reasonable likelihood” that the company would not safeguard its medical cannabis products, citing the ongoing case in […]

Maryland’s Court of Appeals has blocked a Baltimore judge from holding a hearing which could have put the entire medical cannabis industry rollout in the state on hold, the Baltimore Sun reports. The lawsuit stems from the licensing process, which minority-led medical cannabis businesses contend didn’t follow the racial diversity provisions included in the law. […]

Maryland’s Department of Legislative Audits criticized the state’s Medical Cannabis Commission for using Towson University’s Regional Economic Studies Institute to evaluate medical cannabis applications in an audit outlined by City Paper. The reports concluded that the deal between the MMCC and the Institute circumvented “competitive procurement” standards, resulting “in a lack of assurance that these […]

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has ordered a study of whether minorities are at a disadvantage in trying to obtain operating licenses for the state’s medical cannabis program, the Baltimore Sun reports. The study will be coordinated by the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, the Department of Transportation, and the Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs. The move […]

A plan to add five medical cannabis cultivation licenses in Maryland has been defeated in the House of Delegates after Republican lawmakers delayed the vote right up until midnight – which officially marked the end of the legislative session, the Washington Post reports. The measure was pushed by Legislative Black Caucus chairwoman Del. Cheryl Glenn […]

Some patients and potential caregivers in Maryland can sign up for medical cannabis licenses today with a doctor’s approval that they meet one of the qualifying conditions under the law, NBC 4 Washington reports. Registration is open for those whose last names start with the letters A through L; registration for those whose last names […]

Maryland’s House of Delegates have passed legislation that would allow five additional medical cannabis cultivation licenses after a study is conducted as to whether minorities had undergone discrimination in related industries, the Baltimore Sun reports. The study could yield legal justification for awarding the additional licenses to minority applicants. The reform, which passed the House […]

Johns Hopkins University has dropped out of a study exploring whether cannabis can help relieve post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, according to a report from Reason.com. The study, funded by a $2.2 million grant to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, will still be conducted by […]