COCKEYSVILLE, Md. — This month, it's like a brand new state.
Adult-use cannabis is legal, albeit highly regulated, in Maryland.
"It's been a lot of fun; we've been meeting a whole lot of new people. Busy, but manageable," said Matthew Hersh, general manager of KIP Dispensary in Cockeysville.
Hersh has worked in this business for half a decade, and is seeing the hard work pay off roughly three weeks into the substance's legalization for use by adults over 21.
Some, as he knows, are still not doing things the way his shop is.
"The idea that the black market, or the illicit market, was going to go away overnight, I don't think anybody had that illusion," Hersh added.
Hersh's medical and adult-use shop and other legal dispensaries put a great deal of effort into falling within the state's goalposts, and building out their shops.
Hersh and his colleagues within the industry are working to attract new customers, including those who are still doing things the way they've always done them.
But, as he described, that can be an uphill battle.
"We don't have supply where it needs to be to keep the prices competitive with the black market," said Hersh. "And that's just a result of not a lot of leeway, not a lot of time for growers to ramp up."
Even though getting it illegally is, well, illegal, it's personal, it's convenient, and - a big one - customers can get more potent product, more potent than those sold within state caps on THC content.
"Hash and dabbing concentrates that come from other states - it's the heaviest consumers, people probably spending the most money, are not able to shop in the adult market," Hersh noted.
For those who are selling legally, like Hersh, the trial becomes bringing those currently shopping illegally to their legal shop.
"I think we just need to educate people more about the quality, and why it's important to get tested products, and the price points are not as high as everyone thinks," Hersh said.
Police in Baltimore County did not interview with WMAR-2 News for this story, but said they "would not be able to determine whether an individual was specifically attempting avoiding regulation."
"Any sale of marijuana not regulated by the state is illegal," a department spokesman added.
