This year’s round of cannabis laws focused on shoring competition and expanding business opportunities within the state’s still-fledgling medical cannabis industry.
More than 30 separate cannabis-related bills were filed in the Maryland General Assembly this year, but most of them — including one that took yet another swipe at legalizing recreational use of marijuana in Maryland — died before the close of the session on April 8.
The most comprehensive piece of medical marijuana legislation passed was House Bill 17. Initially introduced as a bill to legalize edibles, or the production of food products containing cannabis, legislators ended up consolidating several industry issues and providing regulations around them within this single bill. Ultimately, HB17 allowed for a state-based cannabis edibles program; issued legal protections to enable academic institutions to conduct medical cannabis research; and provided new regulations around how cannabis companies are able to advertise.
Local cannabis business owners reacted positively to the bill.
Edibles — The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission has been directed to allow for the manufacturing and sale of “edible cannabis products,” and must formulate regulations on things like packaging and marketing requirements for these new kinds of cannabis products. The commission has already been developing plans for an edibles program, in anticipation of this kind of legislation being enacted.