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Maryland marijuana sales totaled more than $10 million this past holiday weekend as retail sales for adult consumers launched<\/a> across the state, the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) reported.<\/p>\n From Friday through Sunday, collective recreational and medical cannabis purchases reached $10,429,736\u2014which is more than double the $3,985,527 in medical marijuana sales that the state saw during last year\u2019s 4th of July holiday weekend.<\/p>\n For the first official day of adult-use sales on Saturday, Maryland sold<\/a> $4,518,377 worth of cannabis\u2014the vast majority of which ($3,558,947) came from recreational marijuana purchases. Medical cannabis sales, meanwhile, totaled $959,430 for the day.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are now entering a new frontier in the history of our country,\u201d Gov. Wes Moore (D) said in a video statement posted on the first day of adult-use marijuana sales. \u201cIn the past, cannabis policy has been used as a cudgel to jail and discriminate against our fellow citizens, and especially low income communities and communities of color. It\u2019s time that we said the truth: the war on drugs didn\u2019t just fail, it made us weaker as a nation.\u201d<\/p>\n Maryland, starting today, recreational cannabis is officially legal for adults in our state.<\/p>\n We are writing a new chapter in the story of cannabis in America. One that will lift communities harmed by criminalization and build a more competitive and more equitable economy. pic.twitter.com\/UeIWx8w96L<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Governor Wes Moore (@GovWesMoore) July 1, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u201cI\u2019m proud to say that we in Maryland are helping to write a new chapter of the story of cannabis in America\u2014a chapter that\u2019s focused on economic growth and equity, a chapter that remembers the historic damage done by criminalization and strives to right that wrong, and not just through rhetoric, but through actions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Nearly 100 of the state\u2019s existing medical cannabis dispensaries were approved for dual licensing to serve adult consumers. And MCA also said<\/a> it has collected more than $15 million in licensing conversion fees from those facilities that will be distributed to community reinvestment funds. It plans to provide another $45 million from those fees over the next 18 months.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is Maryland\u2019s time to lead in this new space\u2014our time to forge new partnerships between our government and our people, our time to create an economy that is more competitive, while also being more equitable, and it\u2019s our time to get this right while we do right,\u201d Moore, who signed cannabis regulatory legislation into law<\/a> following voter approval of a legalization ballot referendum, said.<\/p>\n In addition to the 95 medical cannabis dispensaries that were approved for adult-use sales, MCA announced last week that it had approved 42 cultivators and manufacturers to supply the new market.<\/p>\n In May,\u00a0MCA released a first batch of rules for the industry<\/a>\u00a0to the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review (AELR), a key step to stand up the industry that launched on Saturday.<\/p>\n The 41-page document sets definitions, codifies personal possession limits, lays out responsibilities for regulators, explains licensing protocol\u2014including for social equity applicants, clarifies enforcement authorities and penalties and outlines packaging and labeling requirements.<\/p>\n Last month, the state Department of Commerce (DOC) started accepting applications for grants<\/a>\u00a0to help existing medical marijuana businesses convert into dual licensees that can serve the adult-use market.<\/p>\n \u2014 The ballot measure and subsequent regulations legislation that the governor signed was partly a product of extensive work from bipartisan and bicameral lawmakers who were part of House Cannabis Referendum and Legalization Workgroup, which was\u00a0formed in 2021 by Speaker Adrienne Jones (D)<\/a>.<\/p>\n Members held numerous meetings to inform future regulations following Maryland voters\u2019 approval of a legalization referendum during last year\u2019s election, which\u00a0triggered the implementation of complementary legislation<\/a>\u00a0covering rules for basic policies like possession and low-level home cultivation.<\/p>\n Parts of the referendum took effect at the beginning of this year. Possession of up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis became a civil offense, punishable by a $100 fine, with a $250 fine in place for more than 1.5 ounces and up to 2.5 ounces.<\/p>\n Adult-use legalization began to advance through Maryland\u2019s legislature in the 2021 session, but no votes were ultimately held. The Senate Finance Committee held a\u00a0hearing that year on a legalization bill<\/a>, which followed a House Judiciary Committee\u00a0hearing on a separate cannabis proposal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Maryland legalized medical cannabis through an act of the legislature in 2012. Two years later, a decriminalization law took effect that replaced criminal penalties for possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana with a civil fine of $100 to $500.<\/p>\n Meanwhile,\u00a0a separate law also took effect on Saturday<\/a>\u00a0that prevents police from using the odor or possession of marijuana alone as the basis of a search. Yet\u00a0another law going into force<\/a>\u00a0makes it so the lawful and responsible use of cannabis by parents and guardians cannot be construed by state officials as child \u201cneglect.\u201d<\/p>\n Booker Slams \u2018Two-Tier System\u2019 Of Marijuana Criminalization That Shields Powerful From Punishment While Discussing Hunter Biden Plea Deal<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Maryland Marijuana Sales Topped $10 Million During Opening Weekend Of Adult-Use Market, State Reports<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Maryland marijuana sales totaled more than $10 million this past holiday weekend as retail sales for adult consumers launched across the state, the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) reported. From Friday through Sunday, collective recreational and medical cannabis purchases reached $10,429,736\u2014which is more than double the $3,985,527 in medical marijuana salesContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":66499,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1335,18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66498"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66498"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66500,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66498\/revisions\/66500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Maryland Marijuana Sales Topped Million During Opening Weekend Of Adult-Use Market, State Reports<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"