GLEN BURNIE, Md. — Nicholas Patrick of Embrace Wellness CBD has decided to shut down.
He owns three shops here in Maryland and he’s closing his doors in late June.
“Maryland has absolutely, 100%, unequivocally turned their back on the hemp industry," said Patrick.
The cannabis reform bill caps unregulated sale of THC at 2.5 milligrams per package.
To sell any more, Patrick has to get his hands on one of the 300 recreational licenses that’ll be given out on a lottery basis.
Until he knows if he gets one, which is expected to be announced sometime early next year, he has to shut down.
“Yeah I could continue to sell it if I was given a recreational cannabis license, but they’re only giving out a couple hundred of those over the next few years for the entire state. So the first round they’re giving out 80 dispensary licenses, so I would throw my name along with thousands of other people into a pot to maybe get granted a license possibly," said Patrick.
Patrick says his products are much less potent than weed from a dispensary and that all of the products he sells have been third party tested.
He doesn’t know what to do with the thousands of dollars in inventory that he has across his shops.
“At least give me time to sell through my inventory and figure out a plan. You can’t just spring this on an entire industry like 'oh, you’re illegal now,' and expect us to have a backup plan," said Patrick.
With no other option, he’s deciding to shut down and look at other states to open up his business.
His fear is other shop owners haven’t been paying attention and get shut down on July first for operating without a license.
