California Medical Marijuana Consulting Firm Assists Maryland Grower and Dispensary Entrepreneurs

Annapolis, MD, October 28, 2014 (Newswire.com) - On April 14, 2014, the Governor of Maryland signed Senate Bill 923 and House Bill 881 into law. These bills allow medical marijuana growers and dispensaries to open in Maryland to provide medical cannabis to patients who receive written certifications from their physician. Before these bills were signed into law, Maryland decriminalized the medical use of marijuana for patients and their caregivers, and House Bill 1101 allowed for the investigational use of marijuana for medical purposes at academic medical centers. However, that program never took off, and it is only with the enactment of SB 923 and HB 881 that Maryland has truly become the 21st state to enact medical marijuana legislation.

The Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Marijuana Commission was created by HB 1101 in 2013, and has been repurposed by SB 923 and HB 881 to oversee the new version of Maryland’s medical marijuana program. The Commission has released draft versions of the regulations that will guide the creation and operation of Maryland’s new medical marijuana growers and dispensaries. According to the most recent version of the draft regulations, released on September 9, 2014, the Commission will issue 15 medical marijuana grower’s licenses, and up to 94 medical marijuana dispensary licenses that may be issued by the Commission in the State of Maryland.

Maryland’s medical marijuana grower and dispensary licenses will be issued based on merit. The relative merit of each applicant will be determined by a comprehensive point-based application system. Applicants wishing to open a medical marijuana dispensary or cultivation facility in Maryland will need to include extensive documentation in their applications that details their financial support; business, security, inventory tracking, and quality control plans; and a host of other information describing the entire structure of their proposed businesses.

Up to $341,000 in startup capital may be required just to pay the application and licensing fees required to start medical marijuana dispensaries or grower facilities in Maryland. Groups applying to become licensed medical marijuana growers will have to pay a total of $6,000 to apply; dispensary applicants will have to pay $5,000. The biennial licensing fee for growers will be $250,000, and the biennial fee for dispensaries will be $80,000. Applicants who wish to form a combined grower and dispensary organization, which is allowed under the current draft regulations, will be required to pay both sets of fees, totaling $341,000 in application and licensing fees.

Green Rush Consulting, LLC is a medical marijuana consulting firm that has over 15 years of experience operating in the industry, and provides education, training, and expertise to medical marijuana cultivators and dispensary operators across the nation. We specialize in developing winning applications for medical marijuana businesses seeking licenses. Green Rush Consulting has helped entrepreneurial groups win cultivation and dispensary licenses in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington D.C., and recently concluded the application process in Illinois. To learn more about Maryland’s emerging medical marijuana market and how Green Rush Consulting can help you enter it, visit Green Rush Consulting online at: http://www.greenrushconsulting.com/