Per the Maryland Cannabis Administration: “The initial business licensing round for new cannabis growers, processors, and dispensaries closed on December 12, with more than 1,700 applications submitted across all three license categories. This application round marked the first cannabis licensing round in the nation that was exclusively open to qualifying social equity applicants.
“The large volume of applications submitted prior to yesterday’s deadline demonstrates the significant interest in the cannabis industry in Maryland,” said Maryland Cannabis
Administration Acting Director Will Tilburg. It is also a testament to the comprehensive outreach and education efforts made by the Administration and our partners at the Office of Social Equity to potential social equity applicants.”
Application Demographics
A total of 1,708 applications were received by the 5:00 PM EST deadline on December 12. Of these, 980 were for standard and micro dispensaries, 503 were for standard and
micro growers, and 225 were for standard and micro processors. Montgomery County (104), Prince George’s County (99), Baltimore County (83), Baltimore City (72) and Anne
Arundel County (71) were the jurisdictions that received the largest number of standard dispensary applications, comprising more than half of statewide total.
A total of 1,441 applicants, or 84% of all submissions, self-reported that they were minority- and women-owned businesses. Of these, a total of 870 applicants self-reported
they were black-owned businesses, Asian owners self-reported 268 submissions, and Hispanic or Latino owners self-reported 56 submissions
Next Steps
The Maryland Cannabis Administration may award up to 179 licenses in this application round, and is now tasked with reviewing each application to determine whether it meets
the minimum requirements for licensing. Any application that meets the minimum requirements will be placed into a lottery based on region or county, depending on the
type of license. As part of the review process the Administration will verify any claims regarding social equity ownership and control made in the application.
The Administration is working quickly to conduct a comprehensive review of each application and will provide an update to applicants in the coming weeks. All applicants
will be notified of the status of their application upon completion of the review of all applications. For more information, please visit cannabis.maryland.gov.”