The governor of Maryland has just signed a bill to regulate cannabis sales, paving the way for state-wide legalization of cannabis. The new law will allow legal recreational cannabis sales in Maryland starting from July 1. The law will also include protections for minority entrepreneurs and will allow existing growers, processors, and dispensaries to convert to a hybrid license.
The governor of Maryland has signed a bill to regulate cannabis sales, paving the way for state-wide legalization. The new law allows legal recreational sales in Maryland starting July 1. The law also includes protections for minority entrepreneurs and will allow existing growers, processors, and dispensaries to convert to a hybrid license.
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During the signing ceremony, the Maryland governor stated that the law “will ensure that the deployment of recreational cannabis in our state promotes opportunities in an equitable manner.”
“The criminalization of cannabis has deeply harmed low-income communities and communities of color,” he said. “We want to ensure that the legalization of cannabis uplifts these communities in a meaningful way.”
Maryland state lawmakers worked quickly to pass the cannabis regulation legislation before the voter-approved legalization law went into effect in July.
Sales can begin as soon as July 1 at current medical cannabis dispensaries.
Here are the main points of the Maryland cannabis regulation, passed by lawmakers under the names SB 516 and HB 556:
Don Murphy, a former Republican lawmaker from Baltimore County, sponsored legislation in 2003 that opened a loophole for people arrested in Maryland for cannabis possession to argue that it was for medical purposes. At the time, he was not in support of full cannabis legalization, but his stance changed over the years. Today, he is in full support of cannabis legalization.
However, when asked about the new cannabis law in Maryland, Murphy said it doesn’t do enough to help protect minority owners. Speaking on the matter, he said, “Am I thrilled with the way this bill turned out? Not really. If I got my way, there would be no limits on the number of dispensaries or the number of producers or processors. Let the market decide. If you want equity applicants to benefit, they have to get in the game. When you limit the number of people who can get in the game, they’re just always going to be underrepresented.”
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(Featured image by RDNE Stock project via Pexels)
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