Maryland AG: Counties Can’t Ban Medical Marijuana Businesses

There could be a local governmental fight brewing in Maryland, with the state on one side and an anti-cannabis county official on the other.

Maryland’s attorney general recently informed Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh that his plan to push a bill effectively banning medical cannabis businesses is against the law.

Schuh, however, has decided to proceed with the measure anyway, according to the Capital Gazette.

The bill would essentially ban all types of medical cannabis businesses in the county by prohibiting MMJ operations in every local zoning classification. It would not, however, prohibit possession of MMJ by a legal patient.

Several local officials told the paper it’s unlikely Schuh’s measure will pass because it doesn’t have the necessary support from other voting members on the county council.

There’s also another measure being crafted to limit where MMJ businesses can be located, but it wouldn’t prohibit them outright. That’s the one more likely to become law, some officials say.