Will The Maryland Adult Recreation Marijuana Sector Phase Out The Maryland Medical Marijuana Program
By Smoking Chef 08/02/2023
The Game
One month after the inclusion of adult use marijuana in Maryland; things are moving slow with the way dispensaries are handling and promoting business; However, the first month of adult recreational marijuana product sales has resulted in a startling $87 million. The month prior in June, adult medical marijuana sales were $47.1 million. Marijuana sales have doubled in just one month. I will continue to increase, especially since the legalization is new and someone is turning 21 every month. From this point the words marijuana and cannabis will be interchangeable.
Maryland Cannabis Landscape
I recently visited Maryland to see the layout of the cannabis scene. Maryland has had a medical marijuana program since 2014. Now that adult recreational marijuana use is legal, the landscape has changed the scenery a bit. Anyone in Maryland 21 and over can legally purchase marijuana and possess a maximum of 1.5 ounces. Adults can also cultivate up to 2 plants at home. Maryland’s immediate neighbors Virginia and Washington DC have adult use cannabis. Virginia dispensaries only support medical patients since the program began in 2020; however since 2021, Virginians can cultivate up to 4 plants at a time. In DC a household of 2 or more can cultivate up to 12 plants at one time, with 6 in the flower stage and medical marijuana has been accepted since 2010. And now an individual can qualify themselves and state that he / she needs cannabis as a remedy. So when in the DMV, the entire landscape is saturated in cannabis.
Medical vs Recreational
What I also noticed in Maryland dispensaries, is the Maryland Cannabis Administration wants diagnosed patients to receive preferential treatment at the dispensaries. Some Dispensaries have dedicated the first hour of open business to medical cannabis card holders, some have separate lines for medical patients. All dispensaries operate with a skip advance ahead for a medical cannabis card holder. Medical card holders also receive higher dosages of THC products like flower, edibles and concentrates (solvent and solvent less). The only concentrates that can be purchased by adult recreational users are vape cartridges. All said, this does not seem to detour the adult recreational cannabis customer. I expect Maryland to iron things out. They are only in their first month but are much more organized than a lot of the other states when they began their adult recreational cannabis programs.
The Playing Field
Maryland started their medical marijuana program in 2014. Maryland started their adult recreational marijuana program on July 01, 2023, with the first round of licensing disseminated to the established medical dispensaries. On August 1st, the second round of licensing rolled out for businesses that applied for a cannabis business license, by October of 2022. The last rollout is going to be dedicated to colleges and universities for cannabis research and degreed courses. After visiting many dispensaries like Green Point Wellness, Green Light Therapeutics, Ascend Dispensary, Zen Leaf, Remedy and Gold Leaf; which I will cover in my next article. I was able to really get a feel for the synergy of the patients, customers and dispensary personnel. The state of Maryland and its residents have a journey ahead of them with the new found freedoms of legal cannabis but have gotten off to a good start. Now the concern changes a bit. Cannabis is not federally legal but the territories around and even our nations’ Capital are cannabis friendly and legal. Hey federal government, In the words of the late, great Peter Tosh, “Legalize It!”