The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission published the long awaited draft regulations last Friday, June 26, 2015, and it is anticipated that applications for growers, processors and dispensaries will be accepted beginning in September.

Noting the lesson that those who benefitted most from the California Gold Rush of 1849 were not the gold miners but the shopkeepers who sold supplies to the miners, it may be suppliers, including the suppliers of real estate to the growers, processors and dispensaries that will profit.

Maryland is not Colorado where the recreational marijuana is having a significant positive impact on commercial real estate. Denver has more marijuana dispensaries than it does Starbucks. But there are real estate opportunities in Maryland’s medical marijuana program.

The Maryland Commission will issue up to 15 medical cannabis “grower” licenses and cannabis plants may be grown inside of outside. More licenses may be available after May 31, 2018. Significantly a licensed grower may also dispense medical cannabis to patients.

And the Commission may issue “up to two licensed dispensaries per Senatorial district, other than the number of licensed grower dispensary facilities located in the Senatorial district.” There are 47 Maryland Senate Districts which results in 94 possible standalone dispensaries.

The Commission may also approve number of licenses for “licensed processors sufficient to supply the demand for medical cannabis concentrates and medical cannabis-infused products in a range of routes of administration desired by qualifying patients.”

Because the application period is expected to open in September and close in November, and that application must include the proposed location and details about how the location will be built out, the time is now to act. The first step of the application process is very labor intensive, but only requires a nominal Stage 1 application fee. For example, a grower license only requires an initial application payment of $2,000, and then there is Stage 2 fee of $4,000 with a $125,000 annual license fee. Other fees are less. But the quality of an application submission is key because each application will be scored based on a detailed weighted criteria and if there are more qualified applications than licenses available, and there is a numerical tie for the last license to be issued, the license sill be determined by public lottery.

In a curious detail, the regulations make clear that vaporization is not smoking for the purpose of protecting property owners and neighboring tenants from unwanted Cannabis smoke. Such is consistent with my blog post last year, Marijuana Smoking Allowed in LEED Buildings. And presents other opportunities for residential landlords to revise smoking policies to authorize, or not, vaping versus smoking or?

There are a host of other opportunities created by the regulations, including significantly that the regulations allow “delivery of medical cannabis,” leveling the playing field among licenses. The regulations will create a new market for independent testing laboratories. And there will be vendors making identification cards for patients and care givers, for growers and grower agents, for medical cannabis processors and processor agents, not to mention dispensary owners and agents, and others.

These regulations were made possible, after years of false starts, when Governor Larry Hogan on May 12, 2015 signed into law HB 490 sponsored by Delegate Dan Morhaim, which legislation substantially rewrote the earlier marijuana law into a medical cannabis law. All of this is subject to revision as the public comment period on the draft regulations runs through July 27, 2015.

This law firm is currently working with people looking to advantage this new legislatively created business opportunity. If we can assist you do not hesitate to give Stuart a call at 410-339-3910.

Be aware that possessing, using, distributing and selling marijuana are all federal crimes and may be state crimes. Beyond the general disclaimer below about the purposes of the article, this article is not intended to give you criminal law advice or for that matter, any legal advice.