Maryland Senate Passes Bill Restricting Local Control Over Cannabis Dispensary Locations


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Maryland Senate Passes Bill Restricting Local Control Over Cannabis Dispensary Locations
Maryland Senate Passes Bill Restricting Local Control Over Cannabis Dispensary Locations

A bill to limit how far local governments can go in restricting the locations of new cannabis dispensaries cleared a key hurdle in the Maryland General Assembly on Thursday, moving it closer to becoming law just as the state hands out the first round of new cannabis licenses.

The legislation aims to prevent counties from enacting overly burdensome zoning rules that go beyond last year’s law that set up the recreational industry in Maryland.

Only formerly medical cannabis license holders have been permitted to grow, process or sell recreational cannabis so far. The first 174 new licenses were awarded last week and will be required to open in the next 18 months.

But some local officials in Carroll, Prince George’s and other counties have tried to limit the locations of the new shops — raising concerns from some that the legal industry will be unable to flourish in those areas.

A plan to restrict those efforts passed the Democratic-controlled Senate along party lines Thursday. It faced initial pushback primarily from Prince George’s County Democrats who said they don’t want new cannabis storefronts adding to concentrations of liquor stores and smoke shops in their neighborhoods.

“We are just laser focused on making sure that doesn’t happen with cannabis dispensaries,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Malcolm Augustine, a Democrat from Prince George’s County.

Augustine said those concerns persist but he and other members of his delegation voted for the bill because of amendments that would allow for some additional local restrictions.

Last year’s law included restrictions already, such as prohibiting dispensaries from being within 1,000 feet of other dispensaries or within 500 feet of primary or secondary schools, day care centers, playgrounds, libraries and public parks.

The bill this year would prevent local governments from making zoning for dispensaries more strict than for retail alcohol licenses.

Still, it offered some concessions — like giving the public a method for protesting new locations and requiring the Maryland Cannabis Administration to consider geographic distribution when awarding licenses. A provision to allow local governments to extend the 1,000-foot buffer between dispensaries to 1,500 feet was also amended to 2,000 feet before it passed the House of Delegates earlier this month.

Further amendments in the Senate this week would push that by about another 600 feet, to a full half-mile. Those and a few other differences from the House-passed version — including also allowing for up to a 100-foot buffer between dispensaries and areas zoned for residential use — will need to be worked out between the two chambers before the annual 90-day session ends April 8.

“We want to make sure there are as many protections as possible,” Augustine said in an interview, adding that he’s optimistic an agreement will be reached.

The Maryland Cannabis Administration selected 174 applicants for new dispensary, grower and processor licenses through a March 14 lottery. All are “social equity applicants” who were eligible for the first round of new licenses because they lived in or attended school in an area disproportionately impacted by cannabis criminalization.

Baltimore, with the most zip codes eligible for the social equity round, was awarded 11 dispensary licenses, the most of any jurisdiction in the state.


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