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Maryland is the latest state to begin selling recreational cannabis, and just in time for the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
“This is cannabis’ kind of Independence Day—over Independence Day weekend—and so it’s nice to be able to pull something together that makes it more of a celebratory occasion,” Brandon Barksdale, co-CEO of Remedy Maryland, which has a superstore in Columbia, told the Associated Press.
In November 2022, Maryland voters approved a constitutional amendment with 67 percent of the vote to legalize the adult use and sale of recreational cannabis. Since then, state lawmakers have worked to create a legal framework for it in the state.
The new law in Maryland creates a “personal use amount,” which makes it legal to possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis flower and up to 12 grams of concentrated cannabis at one time. Overall, it is legal to possess up to 750 mg of THC in any combination of forms. Maryland residents also can grow marijuana at home, including up to two plants out of public view. Medical patients can grow four plants at home.
Maryland lawmakers levied a 9 percent tax on recreational cannabis, and the revenue which will go toward organizations that serve communities most harmed by the criminalization of cannabis and the enforcement of law against using or possessing it.
Maryland has allowed medical marijuana for the past decade, and 95 of the dispensaries licensed to sell medical cannabis will be the first to offer recreational sales starting Saturday, under the new law. Here’s a list of all the dispensaries licensed to sell recreational marijuana starting Saturday. There are 17 places to buy recreational cannabis in Montgomery County, with more shops located on this map.
You don’t need a Maryland ID to buy recreational marijuana. Just show a government-issued ID to prove you’re 21 or older. But it is technically illegal to take the drug across state lines.
Although D.C. voters approved recreational marijuana use and sales nearly a decade ago, Congress has blocked the local government’s ability to regulate and tax the drug. This has resulted in a recreational gray market, where tokers must purchase an unrelated item, such as a T-shirt or food, and they’ll receive a “gift” of marijuana with their purchase.
D.C.’s medical marijuana program allows residents and non-residents to “self certify” on their application, eliminating the requirement to have a physician sign off on a prescription. The District also has reciprocal agreements with 37 states and Puerto Rico, which permits anyone with a valid patient registration from those places, including Maryland and Virginia, to make purchases at dispensaries without registering with the D.C. government.
In July 2021, the Virginia General Assembly legalized possession of up to one ounce of marijuana, but the recreational market has remained on hold because of opposition from Governor Glen Younkin and other Republican lawmakers.
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