Starting a cannabis company in Maryland? We’ve put together a state-specific guide covering everything from available license types to fees, local rules, and what you should include in a Maryland cannabis business plan. Jump to a section by clicking below, or go straight to our sample cannabis business plan.
Since Maryland passed SB 923 and HB 881 in 2014, Maryland adults can possess up to 120 grams (4.23 ounces) of cannabis flower and 36 grams of THC-infused products every 30 days if they have a written recommendation from a doctor certified to recommend marijuana. About 130,000 patients have registered for medical marijuana use. Sales in 2021 from medical marijuana dispensaries in Maryland could be as high as $675 million. Home cultivation is prohibited, and rules to allow cannabis edibles are still in development.
Maryland is a rare state that does not allow counties or municipalities to forbid medical cannabis companies from operating. This means that medical marijuana businesses can operate in any Maryland city and county.
Maryland issues licenses for five categories of medicinal cannabis businesses: dispensaries, cultivators (aka grow operations), cultivator/dispensaries, processors, and testing labs.
Dispensary: This is a retail storefront where consumers with a valid medical recommendation can purchase processed or dried marijuana. Maryland dispensaries are allowed to process, transport, and sell cannabis, as well as related supplies and products such as food, oils, tinctures, ointments, and aerosols. Maryland dispensaries can also deliver! See Maryland medical marijuana dispensary FAQs here.
Marijuana cultivator: These businesses, also called grow operations, grow cannabis plants indoors or outdoors. Maryland cannabis cultivators can manufacture, process, and package cannabis. Marijuana is then either sold through a dispensary or to a processor. See Maryland medical marijuana grower FAQs here.
Cultivator/dispensary: These businesses are “vertically integrated,” meaning they both grow and sell cannabis to the public.
Processor: Processors create products like concentrates, extracts, tinctures, capsules, and creams and sell them to dispensaries. They may also package and label marijuana. See Maryland medical marijuana processor FAQs here.
Testing lab: Consumers and regulators alike demand consistency and quality control in cannabis products, which creates demand for marijuana testing labs. These labs use methods like liquid or gas chromatography to analyze products for CBD and THC content, pesticides, terpenes, bacteria, fungi, and heavy metals, to name a few.
Ancillary business: If you don’t want to grow or sell cannabis, you still have plenty of options. You can create an app, payment processing service, advertising and branding agency, ad network, consulting firm, pest management product, automated plant watering system, security service, packaging and labeling service, or legal firm--and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
Application fees: Maryland marijuana business applicants have two stages of application fees: everyone pays the first stage fee, and if your business gets approved, then you pay the second stage fee as well. The application fees total $11,000 for a cultivator/dispensary ($3,000 if they don’t make it to stage 2), $6,000 for a cultivator or processor ($2,000 if they don’t make it to stage 2), $5,000 for a dispensary ($1,000 if they don’t make it to stage 2), or $100 for a testing lab.
License fees: Brace yourself for some sticker shock. Annual license fees are $165,000 for a cultivator/dispensary, $125,000 for a cultivator, $40,000 for a dispensary or processor, and $100 for a testing lab.
Registration card: Anyone who works at, volunteers at, or owns a medical marijuana business in Maryland has to get a registration card. You also have to get fingerprinted and undergo a criminal background check. If you’ve been convicted of a felony drug offense, you aren’t eligible for a registration card.
A business plan is not required to get a medical marijuana business license in Maryland, but it will certainly make the process easier. Your application already has to include an operating plan, including storage procedures, which could be included in a business plan. And if you plan on raising funding from investors, you definitely need a business plan.
Confused or overwhelmed yet? That’s normal. With such a highly regulated industry, and one with different rules in every state, starting a cannabis company can be very complex. Get help with your cannabis business plan from Masterplans, the industry leaders. We’ve worked with hundreds of cannabis entrepreneurs like yourself to create investor-ready documents and presentations so you can not only meet regulations but get the funding you need. Click below for your free, confidential consultation: