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Maryland Cannabis Administration backs new wholesale cannabis license; industry groups urge caution
Summary
The Maryland Cannabis Administration told the Economic Matters Committee HB204 would create a new wholesale license category to prepare for potential interstate commerce, while dispensary and wholesale trade groups said the state study shows no immediate need and warned the change could raise prices or be premature.
The Maryland Cannabis Administration urged the House Economic Matters Committee to give HB204 a favorable report, saying the bill would create a new wholesale cannabis license category, set application and licensure fees, authorize up to 15 wholesale licenses and require inclusion of the category in future licensure rounds.
"This bill is a departmental request from the MCA to establish and define a new wholesale cannabis license category," Selena Raleigh said in opening testimony on behalf of the Maryland Cannabis Administration.
The MCA argued early establishment of wholesale distributors could position Maryland as a distribution hub if federal rescheduling occurs, ensure statewide compliance with testing and labeling, and support small social‑equity microbusinesses by offering centralized storage and inventory management.
Not all stakeholders supported that approach. Ashley Bagwell of the Maryland Dispensary Association said an MCA study completed after adult‑use legalization found "there is no immediate need for this kind of license" and warned that creating an extra layer in the supply chain could increase prices and drive consumers to the illicit market.
"As this committee is well aware, it is incredibly mindful to be cognizant of things that potentially increase the cost of cannabis because doing so drives people from the legal market to the unregulated illicit market," Bagwell said.
Joe Bridal of the Maryland Wholesale Cannabis Trade Association echoed the dispensary group's position, saying the wholesale category might make sense after federal legalization but that it is not yet necessary and that additional issues—banking, interstate testing and transport, and other legal alignment—would also need to be addressed.
A member of the public, Rusty Carr, a Mount Airy resident and medical cannabis patient, urged the committee to direct the MCA to include prohibitions on practices such as "shelf space" agreements that, in his view, let cultivators exert undue control over dispensaries.
The committee did not take a final vote during the hearing; testimony concluded with the chair noting the panel's record and moving to the next bill.
