Maryland legislator faces probe for medical cannabis role

The ethics staff for Maryland’s General Assembly has launched a preliminary investigation into a state lawmaker’s role in the medical cannabis industry.

Dan K. Morhaim is a 22-year veteran of the legislature and is the clinical director of Doctors Orders Maryland. The start-up is one of fifteen companies to recently receive a preliminary medical marijuana cultivation license and one of fifteen to receive a processing license for the state’s emerging MMJ program.

Morhaim, a physician, also lobbied for the legalization of medical marijuana in the state, according to the Baltimore Sun. He disclosed his cannabis industry affiliation to a General Assembly ethics counsel and in public financial disclosures, but not during testimonies to the legislature or the state’s medical cannabis commission.

The Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics will meet Oct. 19 to vote on whether to launch a full investigation, which would consider whether Morhaim violated state ethics laws, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Morhaim told The Baltimore Sun in July that he took “one modest paycheck” for being a consultant. He has said that he regrets not being more transparent about his role with Doctors Orders, but asserts he didn’t break any laws.