Despite cooling and soft starts in some other states, Maryland’s adult-use cannabis market opened strong to record-breaking numbers. Soon, up to 179 new licensees will join this thriving market. The State will open the 30-day application period for the next licensing round that will run from November 13, 2023, to December 12, 2023, with a lottery to pick license winners on January 1, 2024. This license round is open to qualified social equity applicants and their partners. Individuals seeking to qualify as a social equity applicant must complete the verification process by November 7, 2023.  

The 179 licenses will be awarded across all categories in regional lotteries for the 16 grower, 32 processor, and all micro licenses; and county-wide lotteries for the 75 standard dispensaries.  

Available Standard licenses:

• 16 grower
• 32 processor
• 75 dispensary

Available Micro licenses:

• 24 grower
• 24 processor
• 8 dispensary

To apply in round one, applicants must either meet and verify their social equity qualifications with the State by November 7, or partner with a qualified applicant or applicants that hold 65 percent of the license. To qualify as a social equity applicant, an individual must meet one of the following requirements: 

• Lived in a disproportionately impacted area for five of the last ten years immediately preceding the submission of the application.
• Attended a public school in a disproportionately impacted areas for at least 5 years.
• For at least 2 years, attended a 4-year institution of higher learning in the state where at least 40 percent of the students are eligible for a Pell Grant.

The fee for each application is $5,000 for the Standard License and $1,000 for each Micro License. An individual can apply for a maximum of two licenses and one license per category. 

Applicants must meet minimum qualifications for licensure including providing an Operating, Business, and Diversity Plan and passing a criminal background check. Lottery winners will have eighteen months to finalize ownership, obtain investors, and secure a property to open for business. Once annual licenses are awarded, a controlling ownership interest may not be transferred until five years after the final license is awarded. 

Maryland will also issue up to five conditional grower licenses to recognized members of the Pigford v. Glickman case that awarded damages to Maryland farmers not fully compensated for past harms and experiencing ongoing challenges due to past discrimination. Qualified Pigford applicants will not be subject to the lottery. If there are more than five qualified Pigford applicants, the applicants will be entered into a separate Pigford-only lottery. 

Our Baltimore and Washington, D.C. offices have been working with Maryland’s Office of Social Equity and the Maryland Cannabis Administration to support prospective licensees. Our national team has proven experience obtaining cannabis licenses and building teams that match qualified social equity applicants with experienced operators and investors. We can help you apply or build partnerships for the chance to get into this thriving new market.  

Contact our Cannabis Team to learn more about opportunities in Maryland or other markets. 

This publication is intended for general information purposes only and does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice. The reader should consult with legal counsel to determine how laws or decisions discussed herein apply to the reader's specific circumstances.