Adam Jackson
Maryland is preparing to trade its reputation as the setting for the streets of HBO’s The Wire for a state-legal recreational cannabis industry that will launch this Saturday, and businesses are revving up production to meet bubbling pent-up demand.
Cannabis cultivation and processing operations in the state have been preparing a range of products for curious and experienced consumers, stockpiling inventory and picking up the pace of shifts and capital improvements across the board.
“We cranked it up,” SunMed owner Jake Van Wingerden told The Baltimore Sun. “We believe that demand will skyrocket for those first couple months.”
Voters approved the referendum in November to launch Maryland’s recreational marijuana market, and the state decided to lean heavily on its existing medical cannabis industry as a base.
Almost every medical cannabis dispensary, processor, and cultivator in Maryland has paid to join the recreational industry, typically paying fees between $100,000 and $2 million based on revenue. And the legislature has roughly tripled the number of licenses for dispensaries, processors, and growers while introducing micro-licenses for smaller operations.
Maryland’s journey to legalization closely mirrors that of Missouri, where monthly cannabis sales tripled shortly after adult use was legalized – a trajectory that insiders expect to Maryland to mirror.
If predictions hold true, annual revenue from the cannabis industry in Maryland could exceed the billion-dollar mark. The state’s medical cannabis market, which has been active for around a half decade, experienced several years of rapid growth and consolidation, though sales began to level off last year.
Part of the state’s plan to ensure the new market is fair and equitable involves reserved licenses and funding opportunities for Marylanders from disadvantaged communities.
“It’s a heavy lift, and they did it fairly quickly,” Van Wingerden said about the legislative process. “They got it all done, and I think it’s going to be a model for the rest of the country.”
Border towns, such as Westminster, Maryland, will likely experience an initial surge in demand from residents in the neighboring states of Pennsylvania and Virginia, which do not yet have legalized recreational markets.
A 9% tax will be levied on all purchases intended for recreational use. Additionally, dab concentrates will be exclusively available to medical marijuana patients.
Under the final law, businesses can apply now for micro-dispensary licenses, which can operate delivery services without a brick-and-mortar presence. However, the first of these licenses isn’t expected to be awarded until Jan. 1, 2024.
