Category: Maryland
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Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission Finally Awards Grower and Processor Approvals
The much-anticipated Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission meeting where a number of growers and processors received Stage One pre-approvals for licenses went on for more than four hours. These licenses have been nearly two years in the making—the result of a 2018 law introduced to prioritize minority-owned businesses and begin to correct the fact that virtually…
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Hemp Smell Complaints in Baltimore County Inspire More Legislation
Community complaints about the smell emanating from hemp farms and unfounded claims that the odor is causing health problems for some in Baltimore County has again inspired legislation threatening Maryland’s “right-to-farm” laws. Last week, County Councilperson Wade Kach, a Republican representing Cockeysville, Maryland introduced Bill 94-20, preventing hemp farms from being more than 2,000 feet…
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Quick Hit: Meet Mia Mason, the Pro-Cannabis Candidate Going Up Against Andy Harris
Readers of The Outlaw Report know all about Congressman Andy Harrs, anti-cannabis politician to his core. Harris infamously is to blame for Washington D.C. legalizing cannabis but not being able to have a proper commercial cannabis industry and he is also something of a Covid truther and all-around drug reform spoiler sport as his attempts…
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Cannabis Commission’s Policy Committee Meeting; Maryland Dispensary Shake-Ups
The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (MMCC) Policy Committee meeting from last week went deep on the complicated ins and outs of testing that even members of the committee were still wrapping their heads around. Primarily, this was about the ongoing development of a technical authority for testing medicinal cannabis and all that it entails. “The…
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Unpacking Racially Disproportionate Cannabis Arrests in D.C. and Baltimore
Earlier this month, The Washington Post published “D.C. legalized marijuana, but one thing didn’t change: Almost everyone arrested on pot charges is Black,” a lengthy report that crunched cannabis arrest numbers in the District and spoke to some of those affected by those arrests, which are occurring after D.C. legalized cannabis, has a medicinal cannabis…
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The Outlaw Report Podcast Episode 07: Anacostia Organics’ Linda Mercado Greene and MORE Act Fallout
We have an especially in-depth episode of The Outlaw Report this week, featuring host Scott Cecil in conversation with Linda Mercado Greene of Anacostia Organics. But before that, The Outlaw Report’s Brandon Soderberg talks—and rants—about the Democrats kicking the can on the The MORE Act and after the talk with Greene, Scott and Brandon also…
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Lance Lucas, Who Bribed Former Maryland Delegate For Medicinal Cannabis Licenses, Sentenced
Lance Lucas, the Baltimore businessman who pleaded guilty earlier this year for bribing former Maryland delegate Cheryl Glenn to gain favor for companies applying for medicinal cannabis licenses was sentenced last week. He was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison which will be followed by three years of supervised release. In July, Glenn was…
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Op-Ed: National Expungement Week of Action in the DMV
by Ray Dixon National Expungement Week (N.E.W.) is a non-cannabis specific awareness movement that facilitates expungement relief and wrap-around services to communities affected by the War on Drugs. The American Bar Association describes “expungement” as “the process by which a record of criminal conviction is destroyed or sealed from state or federal record.” An expungement…
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Op-Ed: Do Banking and Digital Payments Solutions Exist in the Cannabis Industry?
It is no secret that having reliable banking partners in the cannabis industry is difficult, however, the adage that cannabis banking access is near impossible is no longer the case. The majority of the cannabis industry is underbanked, but not unbanked. There are a limited number of financial institutions that are willing to open business…
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Quick Hit: The National Cannabis Policy Summit Is On September 10
On Thursday, September 10, the National Cannabis Policy Summit will be held. The third annual event is virtual this year and is also free to attend (you just have to register) giving those anywhere in the country who are interested in cannabis reform a chance to be part of the summit. The ability to attend…
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Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission Finds “No Evidence of Bias or Undue Influence” In 2019 Licenses Awarded
Last week was full of good news from the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (MMCC). At Thursday September 3’s MMCC meeting Executive Director William Tillburg excitedly detailed the ways in which medicinal cannabis continues to be a booming business in the state. Tilburg noted that retail sales in July alone were more than $40 million which…
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Quick Hit: Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission’s Meeting Rescheduled
Nearly a half-hour after last Thursday’s Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission’s week was supposed to begin, it was cancelled. “I regret to inform you that today’s scheduled MMCC Full Commission meeting has been cancelled,” wrote Lori Dodson, Deputy Director of the MMCC over email. “The platform is experiencing technical issues and the meeting will need to…