Category: Maryland
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Quick Hit: If You Care About Racial Equity and Cannabis Put ‘Pleasure Activism’ On Your Reading List
Following the police killing of George Floyd and the nationwide uprising against police violence that still continues (even if the media’s gaze at protesters across the country is not quite where it was a few weeks ago), many people—mostly white people—felt more than a little lost. To understand the extent of the problems with American…
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The 2018 Farm Bill Makes It Harder For Crime Labs To Test For THC
The 2018 Farm Bill was great news for hemp farmers across the country when it made the production of hemp for agricultural purposes legal. The 2018 Bill removed hemp from the federal list of controlled substances and defined it as any part of the plant with the botanical name Cannabis Sativa (the same name as…
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Maryland Cannabis Companies Called Out For Racism and Discrimination
Last week, a former employee of Baltimore County dispensary Charm City Medicus took to Twitter to describe how they quit working as a receptionist after they said dispensary owner Bryan Hill asked them to remove the letters “BLM”—for Black Lives Matter—written on their cheek. In response, the former employee who identified themselves as “Lynn” only…
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The Outlaw Report Podcast Episode 03: Cannabis and Defunding The Police
In the third episode of The Outlaw Report podcast, Prohibited podcast founder Scott Cecil talks to reporter Brandon Soderberg about racial justice and cannabis amid nationwide protests against police violence following the police killing of George Floyd. Cecil and Soderberg discussed Washington D.C.’s proposed budget and its perceived workaround for facilitating a commercial cannabis industry…
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Maryland’s Hemp Rush and Federal Changes To Hemp Banking
In The Carroll County Times last week, journalist Jon Kelvey provided an fascinating portrait of what growing industrial hemp in Maryland looks like at this moment. “The Other Cannabis Crop: Carroll County farmers test out growing logistics, market for newly legal hemp,” details how Maryland got to this mini-moment with hemo—due to the 2014 Farm…
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Baltimore’s Next Mayor and City Council President Are Pro-Cannabis
The results of Baltimore’s June 2 primary election—mostly done via mail and then seriously mishandled by the Baltimore City Board of Elections—are finally in as of last week and they suggest some potential change in the city when it comes to cannabis (in Baltimore, winners of the Democratic primary are presumed General Election winners). Both…
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Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission Meeting Addresses George Floyd, Rejects a Dispensary License
In its first meeting since March and following a Finance Committee meeting and Policy Committee meeting at the end of May, the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission addressed its role in racial justice amid nationwide protests against police violence, approved a number of regulatory changes, and in a rare move for the aggressively pro-business commission, rescinded…
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Concerned About Racial Equity In The Cannabis Industry? Consult The Accountability List
Cannaclusive, a website advocating for black representation in the legalized cannabis industry recently released The Accountability List. Posted as a Google doc and therefore “a living document,” The Accountability List gathers cannabis and hemp companies and details whether or not they are black-owned, the number of black people employed, and the company’s comments (or lack…
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Maryland Court of Special Appeals Rules Against Cop Who Tackled and Pepper-Sprayed Man Found With Cannabis
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals ruled in favor of Richard Williams, a man who was stopped by police back in 2018 for driving while using his cell phone and then tackled and pepper-sprayed by police and had his person and car searched for cannabis. The opinion says that Williams’ Fourth Amendment rights were violated…
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Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission Policy Committee Meeting Puts Pause On Adjusting Out of State Regulations
Last month, in preparation for the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission’s Policy Committee meeting on May 27, the MMCC introduced the regulatory proposals it would consider and asked for public comment. Those proposals are described in detail here, but more briefly they were: adjustments to the regulations regarding ancillary businesses to cannabis such as security; creating…
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Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission Finance Committee Meeting Considers COVID-19’s Impact
Last week, the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (MMCC) held its Finance Committee Meeting where it reviewed its 2020 fiscal year performance so far and wrestled with the devastating economic effects of COVID-19. The commission’s budget is a special fund and is mostly funded by licensing fees, rather than the state’s general fund. The meeting about…
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A Rundown of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission’s Regulatory Proposals
The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (MMCC) will hold its Policy Committee meeting on May 27, 2020, where it will introduce, amend, and codify a number of regulatory proposals. These proposals have to do with businesses related to the cannabis industry, eliminating potential corruption between medical providers and cannabis companies, physicians and caregivers, licensing, and out-of-state…