Additional medical marijuana licenses put on hold in Maryland

Maryland medical marijuana regulators put plans to award an additional four cultivation and 10 processing licenses on hold, in wake of a judge’s temporary restraining order barring the state from issuing licenses until Oct. 7.

The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission was scheduled to announce the winners on Thursday.

Instead, Commission Chairman Brian Lopez said the state would take more time to review applications, acknowledging concerns raised by the Legislative Black Caucus that minority-owned firms weren’t getting a fair shake, The Baltimore Sun reported.

Lopez reportedly didn’t specifically mention the judge’s temporary restraining order, which was in response to a complaint by the company Remileaf that the state had wrongfully not accepted its application. Remileaf provides cannabis-related resources and support throughout Maryland.

Regulators were set to issue additional licenses to meet the demand of the fast-growing MMJ market. Sales are on pace to double the 2018 total of $109.3 million.

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