Brian Shane

Staff Writer

 Smoke-free cannabis consumption lounges, and events where cannabis vendors could offer single-serving products direct to consumers, are both being considered under legislation now pending with Maryland state lawmakers.

Maryland’s nascent cannabis marketplace, already a billion-dollar industry, moves mostly combustible products that are consumed by smoking. Now, the state’s cannabis oversight agency is looking to cannabis-infused beverages and edibles as “a way that the industry can grow in a different direction,” according to Andrew Garrison, head of the Office of Policy and Government Affairs in the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA).

Garrison spoke Jan. 30 in Annapolis at a hearing for SB 215. He told lawmakers how, because the MCA is about to authorize its second round of cannabis dispensary licenses, cannabis events and consumption lounges will be part of the state’s business model moving forward.

However, governments would have to agree to permit on-site lounges and cannabis events before they could go forward. Cannabis lounges can’t operate unless a “political subdivision,” as the bill puts it, authorizes its operation by issuing a permit or license.

“Not everyone is on board with an on-site consumption license,” Garrison told the committee. “There might be only a few jurisdictions open to moving this forward. If there’s only a few, then that’s something I think we’d be comfortable with. We don’t want to necessarily force what is a relatively new model onto local jurisdictions.”

According to the bill, MCA would issue 50 on-site consumption licenses with an application fee of $5,000. No smoking or vaping would be allowed under this bill, just edible or liquid products.

The license allows for the processing of cannabis or cannabis-infused products, or the adding of cannabis to food prepared or served on the premises – which also means such events would now fall under the oversight of county health departments.

Licensees can’t grow the cannabis they’re serving; it has to come from a licensed Maryland dispensary. Also, just like a movie theater doesn’t want you bringing in your own snacks, customers under this law would not be allowed to bring in their own outside cannabis products to an on-site lounge.

The bill also says cannabis provided for on-site consumption must be single-serving products. When lawmakers at the hearing pointed out how the bill doesn’t limit how many single-serving items a customer could have, the MCA’s Garrison said limitations on single servings could be considered.

Agreeable cities, towns, and counties also could adopt their own zoning and planning requirements for on-site consumption establishments.

Notably, the bill prioritizes social equity applicants, giving them the first opportunity to establish on-site consumption businesses and host cannabis events.

“It helps level the playing field and ensures that those most impacted by past cannabis prohibition have a real chance to succeed in the industry,” said Audrey Johnson, executive director of the Maryland Office of Social Equity, at the hearing. She also noted that 12 other states have implemented on-site consumption models.

When it comes to cannabis events, the rules are slightly different. The MCA would authorize cannabis event permits, which would be limited to four consecutive days or a period of 48 hours – but you can’t host a cannabis event if you already hold a dispensary license, the bill says.

The rules would prohibit smoking at cannabis events, indoors or out, Garrison said. “Having an outdoor smoking event might not be something a lot of folks are going to want to have in their neighborhoods,” he told the committee.

MCA also can issue permits to vendors who want to sell single-serving products at the event. Only social equity licensees can get vendor permits between now and July 2028. Any product sold at an event has to flow through the MCA licensing system, including packaging, labeling, and testing.

And, just like the on-site lounges, local governments can still prohibit or restrict the authorization of cannabis event registrations or assess their own additional fees, the bill says.

While this bill is sponsored by state Sen. Pamela Beidle (D-32, Anne Arundel), chair of the Finance Committee, the MCA says the legislation is actually an agency-sponsored bill and Beidle just put her name on it. A companion bill has been filed in the House of Delegates, HB 132, under Del. C.T. Wilson (D-28, Charles). The law would take effect Oct. 1.

Not all lawmakers were sold. State Sen. Benjamin Kramer (D-19, Montgomery) at the hearing noted how edible cannabis products can take a while to kick in, which opens the door to “a whole new line of public health concerns” if people get behind the wheel of a car after consuming.

“They get up to leave, and now, boom, now we have somebody out in a 4,000-pound missile endangering every motorist and every pedestrian on the road, suddenly getting hit with the effects that will clearly impair their ability to operate a vehicle,” he said. “What we’re doing is simply endangering the public in an effort to expand access to cannabis.”

Authorities in Worcester County are already dubious about the proposal.

Worcester County Commissioner Joe Mitrecic (District 7, Ocean City) at the board’s Jan. 21 meeting in Snow Hill asked county staff to look into preventing such events. “It looks like it probably will go through because it’s a big revenue generator,” he said of the bill.

“People (are) going to come down to the shore and want to have these events here in Worcester County,” Mitrecic added. “And we need to get out in front of it – if the commissioners as a whole decides – to stop these events from happening. I’m not sure we want these going on in our county.”

Commissioner Jim Bunting (District 6, Bishopville) agreed.

“This stuff that’s being made today, it’s 100 times more potent,” he said. “People don’t realize how it affects you after you leave an event. I actually know three or four accidents that have happened. People don’t even know they have an accident, then they wake up in an ambulance, that’s how strong it is.”

Cannabis was a medical-use only product until 2023, when the market opened to adult use (21+). According to the MCA, the first year of legal adult and medical cannabis sales topped $1 billion, with adult-use sales making up $709 million of the total. For the first quarter of fiscal 2025, adult-use cannabis sales and use tax collections totaled $18.3 million.