ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A new portal created by the State of Maryland will verify an applicant's social equity status before they can become eligible for a cannabis business license.
The portal was introduced Friday by the Maryland Cannabis Administration, and will be in operation for 60 days between September 8 and November 7.
Applicants visiting the portal will be informed of pre-eligibility requirements.
Under the Cannabis Reform Act, social equity applicants must have lived or attended school in a disproportionately impacted area for at least five of the past 10 years.
They're also required to own or control at least 65 percent of the business the license would be issued to.
Applicants could also be eligible if, for two-years, they attended a four-year college in Maryland where at least 40 percent of students qualified for a Pell Grant.
Those institutions include Bowie, Coppin, and Morgan State Universities, along with the University of Baltimore, the University of Maryland - Eastern Shore, and Washington Adventist University.
The first round of cannabis licenses are being reserved only for applicants meeting this criteria.
When crafting the Cannabis Reform Act, Democratic lawmakers focused specifically on those areas described as disproportionately impacted, claiming they were subjected to higher levels of marijuana drug enforcement over the last two decades.
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“Our goal with establishing this verification tool is to ensure that every person who may be interested in a cannabis business license knows before the application period opens whether they are eligible to apply,"said Maryland Cannabis Administration Acting Director Will Tilburg. “We are excited to offer this verification tool, free of charge, to all prospective applicants.”
The second round of licenses are expected to be issued after May 1, 2024.
For more information on first round eligibility click here.
