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The Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) has released new zoning guidance following the passage of HB 805 during the 2024 legislative session. This legislation, effective June 1, 2024, offers counties expanded flexibility in regulating cannabis business locations while ensuring consistency across the state.
Standard Dispensaries: Local Authority and Restrictions
Standard dispensaries are storefronts that sell cannabis products to consumers and are subject to specified zoning requirements. The MCA has limited the number of dispensary licenses per county.
Courtesy of Maryland Cannabis Administration
Counties now enjoy greater flexibility in determining dispensary locations, but specific limitations on local authority still apply.
What Local Governments Can Do:
Increase the distance between dispensaries from the state-mandated 1,000 feet to a half-mile by passing local ordinances.
Establish a minimum distance of 100 feet between dispensaries and areas zoned exclusively for residential use.
Apply the same distance limitations for licensed alcoholic beverage retailers from areas zoned exclusively for residential use.
Reduce the required distance between dispensaries and sensitive locations (such as schools, parks, libraries, and places of worship) to less than 500 feet.
Reduce the distance between dispensaries to less than 1,000 feet.
Enforce these distance requirements when making zoning decisions for new dispensaries.
Prohibit unlicensed cannabis retailers from operating within the jurisdiction.
What Local Governments Cannot Do:
Adopt stricter zoning or operational requirements for licensed dispensaries than those for alcoholic beverage retailers.
Impose fees, licensing, or operational requirements that disproportionately burden cannabis businesses compared to other businesses with similar impacts.
Prohibit transportation or delivery services from licensed cannabis businesses located in other jurisdictions.
Ban the retail sale of adult-use cannabis by licensed dispensaries.
Cannabis Growers: State and Local Interaction
Cannabis growers, whether cultivating indoors, outdoors, or through a combination of both methods, are also subject to state and local regulations. Local governments can approve the location of these growers but must operate within certain boundaries established by the state.
What Local Governments Can Do:
Approve the location of growers in line with state security and zoning requirements.
What Local Governments Cannot Do:
Impose zoning restrictions on outdoor cannabis cultivation that are more stringent than those applied to registered hemp farms as of June 30, 2023.
Prohibit outdoor cannabis cultivation on land zoned for use before June 30, 2023.
On-Site Consumption: Local Decision-Making
Although the MCA has yet to issue licenses for on-site cannabis consumption establishments, counties can regulate or prohibit them within their jurisdictions.
What Local Governments Can Do:
Prohibit on-site cannabis consumption establishments.
Restrict the types of consumption allowed at on-site establishments.
Protests and Licensing Renewals
Residents and commercial tenants located within 1,000 feet of a cannabis business now have the right to file a protest against the renewal of its license. Protests can stem from law violations or disturbances caused by the business.
When a protest meets the legal criteria, the MCA will hold a hearing to determine whether the license gets renewed. This provision increases community influence over cannabis businesses and ensures local concerns play a role in the regulatory process.
Upcoming Dashboard Update to Aid Counties in Tracking Conditional Licenses
As previously reported on Conduit Street, the MCA launched a Medical and Adult-Use Data Dashboard with interactive maps, sales, volume figures, and graphs to allow users to explore a wide range of data formatted in aggregate sales, licensing, and patient data.
The MCA is updating its data dashboard to include information on conditional licenses, making it easier for counties to see which businesses may be seeking zoning approval.
Visit the MCA website for more information.
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