Maryland Sticks With $250,000 Cultivation License Fees

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Despite rumors that fees could be reduced, Maryland’s medical marijuana commission on Thursday left licensing fees unchanged from prior recommendations as they approved draft rules to govern cannabis businesses.

Medical marijuana growers will have to pay $250,000 for a two-year license while dispensaries will have to pay $80,000, the commission said. The group had delayed a vote to look into claims that the fees were too high but left them as recommended, saying it wanted the industry to be adequately financed and self-sufficient as required by the Maryland General Assembly.

The fees are the second-highest in the nation behind Illinois. The panel had twice delayed the vote, which was originally supposed to be in September. Patients seeking medicinal marijuana will still have to wait until 2016 to get their hands on the product as regulatory framework works its way through the General Assembly.

The commission set aside rules for the sale of edibles and liquid extracts, saying it didn’t have enough time to draft laws on the products, according to the Baltimore Sun.