Maryland Cannabis Licensing Round Two: What to Consider
New Maryland Cannabis Opportunities Have Arrived
It wasn’t that long ago that Maryland held its first licensing lottery to enter the adult-use cannabis market. Now, the second cannabis license lottery round is on the horizon. Here is what you should know heading into this new lottery and how we can help or answer any questions you may have about opening up your Maryland cannabis business.
What’s Happening Now In Maryland’s Cannabis Program?
County Bottlenecks Resolved
Litigation in Maryland prevents the Maryland Cannabis Administration (“MCA”) from issuing standard dispensary licenses in both Calvert and Talbot Counties. With this now having been resolved, a lottery can now be held to issue these licenses for the counties.
Another License Lottery Date Has Been Announced
This second lottery in the state is scheduled to be held on June 28th at 9:30am EST and can be watched on the MCA’s website. While this is the second official lottery the state is doing, they are stating that this is “a continuation of the MCA’s first round of licensing authorized under the Cannabis Reform Act.”
New Cannabis License Types Will Be Available
But, these additional five licenses being issued (three in Calvert and two in Talbot) are not the only ones being offered at this lottery. This will also see the issuance of additional licenses due to “the strong interest and engagement in the first round of social equity licenses, and to give more individuals the opportunity to operate a cannabis business in the State.”
In addition to these licenses, the MCA will be issuing:
- Two (2) Micro Dispensary Licenses to the central region
- Four (4) Standard Grower Licenses
- Six (6) Micro Grower Licenses
- Eight (8) Standard Processor Licenses
- Six (6) Micro Processor Licenses
What Will Be Coming Next For The State?
We will see the results of the lottery on June 28th with the issuance of 31 more licenses statewide. This will now mean that Maryland has issued the maximum allowable cannabis business licenses for their technically first licenses round.
After this, we anticipate more lotteries to be held to issue business licenses which are for non-social equity applicants. While we don’t have a specific date for when this next lottery will be held, we do have high confidence that additional Maryland lotteries could be held as soon as this year.
What Can Maryland Cannabis Entrepreneurs Do Now?
Social Equity License Seekers Are Priority
For right now, prospective Maryland business owners have couple of options available. If you are a social equity license seeker who did not have their cannabis application pulled during the previous licensing round, be sure to tune in to this lottery to see if you have your application selected.
Future Maryland Licenses Will Be Coming – Partner & Plan With Us Now
If you do not win this round, there are still cannabis business opportunities for you. There will be additional lotteries held and now can be a great time to start financial planning and business planning for your prospective cannabis business.
We at Canna Advisors are here to help with this and answer any other questions about the Maryland cannabis market.
Contact our consultants to see how you can stay prepared for more Maryland cannabis licensing rounds or book an hourly consultation to get your questions answered right away.