Brian Shane

Staff Writer

West Ocean City could end up with the state’s largest cannabis dispensary, in terms of square footage, after Hi Tide completes a move into a former retail pharmacy space along Route 50 by early 2025.

However, the amount of parking required by law at any Worcester County cannabis dispensary is now up for debate. Officials last week launched into public scrutiny of the zoning code as it relates to dispensaries.

The county’s Planning Commission at its Oct. 3 meeting agreed on a zoning amendment that would tighten parking restrictions for licensed cannabis dispensaries over and above regular retail facilities.

The bill would set parking requirements for dispensaries to a minimum of one space for every 150 square feet. The original version of the legislation would have set the minimum at 50 square feet. Retail parking now requires one space for every 300 square feet.

Since the advent of legalized medical cannabis in 2017, Worcester County has treated dispensaries as the equivalent to a retail pharmacy, which is a permitted use of a commercially zoned property, according to Planning Director Jennifer Keener.

However, since the expansion of cannabis from medical only to adult use in July 2023, it “has generated a significant amount of additional (vehicular) traffic impacts that were not originally contemplated” under medical-only sales, Keener wrote in a Sept. 26 memo to members of the planning commission.

This conversation about dispensaries and parking started in early September. County attorney Roscoe Leslie had conferred with the County Commissioners about an inquiry into a possible new retail cannabis dispensary location, according to county spokeswoman Kim Moses.

“During the discussion, commissioners asked (the planning department) to begin the process of drafting legislation to amend the parking requirements for cannabis dispensaries for their consideration,” she said in an email.

The parking bill now moves from the Planning Commission to the County Commissioners. If at least one commissioner introduces the amendment as a bill, then a hearing date will be set to obtain public input. If passed, the bill is written to take effect immediately as emergency legislation.

Worcester County has two licensed cannabis dispensaries, Positive Energy and Hi Tide, both located less than two miles from each other in the West Ocean City area. Positive Energy is located off Route 50, while Hi Tide is situated off Route 611.

Hi Tide will soon relocate. Owner and clinical director Bob Davis said he’s now in the process of renovating a former Rite Aid pharmacy and will complete the move in a few months.

“We’re growing. It’s a growing business,” Davis said. “We’re striving to give a great vibe and maintain customer satisfaction. It’s because of our customers, both patients and recreational, that we’re making this move. That’s what it’s about. Everything is about the customer experience for me.”

According to a building permit filed Aug 13 with Worcester County, Hi Tide’s build-out plans include a public-facing waiting room and merchandise area, with a separate area for sales and check-out. Employee spaces would include offices, inventory room, and an employee break room. The old Rite Aid drive-through will be put to use for Hi Tide customer pickup.

Davis added that he hopes for a December opening, but that may be delayed until January. That’s because Hi Tide cannot open both locations simultaneously, and must shutter the original Hi Tide, located off Route 611, before opening the new facility.

Under the original parking restriction floated by the planning commission, Hi Tide would have needed 240 parking spaces because Rite Aid is approximately 12,000 square feet. The bill currently under consideration would lower the minimum spaces needed to 80. That building currently has 74 parking spaces.

Maryland’s 98 dispensaries have sold $775 million in product in 2024, according to data compiled by the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA). Since retail sales of adult-use cannabis became legal on July 1, 2023, sales to date have exceeded $1.3 billion.

The state levies a 9 percent tax on cannabis sales (from which medical patients are exempt) and distributes a percentage of all revenue to dedicated state funds as well as the general fund. Maryland counties by law get a 5 percent share of that revenue.

Despite the fact cannabis remains a controlled dangerous substance under federal law, about a million people each month are customers of adult-use cannabis in Maryland, according to MCA data dating to March.