Now six years following the legalization of cannabis in Maryland, the “Old Line State” finally completed its first full year of sales. Over 300 Marylanders apply to be a medical cannabis patient on a daily basis, according to the program lead, Joy Strand.
“Every Monday, we come in to 1,000 new applications,” said Strand, who is the executive director of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (MMCC). “People have really started to take notice of the cannabis program in Maryland,” she added.
Albeit a turbulent rollercoaster of affairs in the run-up to Maryland’s cannabis industry launch in late 2017, the industry is picking up some serious speed. According to Statista, the market will yield $494 million by 2025.
Maryland is leading by example with the rapid progression and evolution of its cannabis industry. Last December, the Medical Cannabis Commission (MCC) employed 17 people. Now, Strand says that the commission has 37 employees with plans to hire more.
Job roles that are blossoming in Maryland’s medical cannabis industry include:
Within the span of 12 months, demand for Maryland’s medical cannabis patient pool has almost quadrupled. Statistics claim that the number of registered patients for the state’s medical cannabis is program has surged from less than 20,000 at the beginning of 2018 to 75,000 at the end of November.
An increasing acceptance of medical cannabis is a positive repercussion of legalization, which is strengthening the U.S. economy as a whole. In Maryland, cannabis sales generated $96.3 million among cannabis retailers, collectively.
That figure constituted over 10,800 pounds of flower and 729,309 cannabis-infused products, all of which were sold statewide. It is a figure that has ballooned from the $35 million in collective sales accrued during the first six months of cannabis retailing in Maryland. This suggests that the market has attracted more than double the sales pace since the state’s early days of legal weed.
The head of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (MMCC), Joy Strand, has expressed her pride in the progress of Maryland’s cannabis industry since she assumed the role of executive director in late 2018.
“Our businesses are maturing and ramping up production levels, we’re offering a lot of options for our patients,” Strand explained. “I think we’re off to a great start, but there is a lot more to do. I look forward to more progress and more improvements in the new year.”
Everything related to Maryland’s cannabis industry is overseen by the MMCC. The commission acts as the regulatory body that provides oversight for the state’s medical cannabis businesses.
Here’s an overview of what’s expected to come for Maryland’s cannabis industry in the coming year:
Every opportunity that arises in the legal cannabis industry, Maryland absorbs like a sponge. Based on the most up-to-date data released by the MMCC, the state currently has 14 cultivators, 14 processors and five testing labs.
Judging on its initial year of sales – which exceeded two million transactions averaging $47.08 per transaction – Maryland’s cannabis industry looks set to skyrocket into the lush green realms of legal weed, which is forecast to harvest $146.4 billion on a global scale by 2025.
The pharmaceutical that is known as Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid pain reliever that has long been associated with misuse, addiction as well as overdose. However, research has found that the fentanyl overdoses and deaths are largely due to the synthetic versions available on the illicit market. Finding measures to reduce addiction and assist with…
As new states have legalized medical cannabis, there is a mad dash for both local and major out-of-state businesses to secure licenses. As of Nov. 4, 2020, 36 states have legalized medical cannabis, though the newest two states to legalize do not have licensing application systems working yet. Still, with well over half the country…
New Jersey legalized retail cannabis during the November elections. Laws were supposed to change on January 1st, 2020, but that is not what happened. Between the Senate, the Assembly, and Democratic Governor Phil Murphy, a stick was just tossed in the wheels of cannabis legalization in New Jersey. Those on the bike ride to recreational…
One of the most strenuously argued points of the War on Drugs was that allowing any drugs to gain a toehold in society would create a slippery slope that would end in America’s children rotting their brains on narcotics. We know now that a lot of those fear tactics don’t hold up under scrutiny—cannabis doesn’t…
Thanks to some of its participants, the DC Capitol Seige Riot set the cannabis stigma back as rioters consumed irresponsibly in the Rotunda. To help boost morale for the COVID vaccines, the Joints for Jabs campaign will be giving away free cannabis outside of DC vaccine clinics. And Texas, of all places, is flirting with…
PTSD can have far-reaching effects on health, functionality as well as on quality of living, which is why having access to effective…
Recreational cannabis legalization was a success for South Dakota in 2020, with a 54.2% to 45.8% vote passing in favor of this…
When it comes to cannabis, Maine is one of the more progressive states in the country. In 1976, Maine became only the…
