Maryland proposal for smoke‑free, social‑equity on‑site cannabis lounges splits stakeholders over inhalables
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Summary
MCA and the Office of Social Equity proposed HB132 to authorize on‑site cannabis consumption lounges and a tiered event registration system, prioritizing social‑equity applicants and limiting initial on‑site consumption to noncombustible products under state testing protocols.
The Maryland Cannabis Administration and the Office of Social Equity asked the House Economic Matters Committee to support HB132, a framework to create on‑site consumption lounges and a three‑tiered event registration system while prioritizing social‑equity licensees.
"Our model is a smoke free model," Lisonbee Butler, the MCA division chief of policy implementation, told the committee. The bill would limit on‑site consumption to noncombustible products, require testing protocols for products used or produced on site, and let local jurisdictions opt in and set zoning and hours.
Audrey Johnson, executive director of the Office of Social Equity, said the bill prioritizes social equity applicants for on‑site licenses and vendor permits, and that limiting initial on‑site consumption to edibles and beverages is a public‑health conscious first step.
Multiple witnesses supported the bill as a way to create regulated, safer consumption options and economic opportunities for social‑equity applicants, including clinician‑educators who noted on‑site spaces could allow controlled dosing and packaging.
But the proposal encountered sustained opposition from patient and veteran advocates, and some industry stakeholders, who said excluding inhalable products (flower and vapes) would deny many patients and adult consumers their preferred or medically effective consumption method and could push people to unregulated sources.
"Flower alone represents 60% of the market," Caroline Phillips, founder of the National Cannabis Festival, told the committee and urged the legislature to allow inhalable products at qualifying outdoor events to reduce unregulated sales at live events.
Veterans Initiative 22 and other patient groups said the smoke‑free approach excludes people who live in housing where they cannot smoke or who rely on inhalation for rapid onset and symptom relief. The MCA and ATCC noted law enforcement and impaired‑driving testing limitations and local odor concerns as part of the rationale for a smoke‑free initial model and said the bill embeds local control and mitigation strategies for events.
Stakeholders including the Maryland Dispensary Association proposed amendments to limit event retailing functions to regulated dispensaries and to prohibit venues themselves from staffing retail sales, while other groups urged expansion of the bill to permit regulated inhalable sales at outdoor events under strict controls.
Committee members asked agencies and stakeholders to continue refining public‑safety protections, testing requirements and social‑equity implementation before the panel moves forward.
