As the General Assembly prepares to hash out final details for legalized recreational use of cannabis in Maryland, lawmakers are learning more about the potential scale of the industry.
Cannabis Public Policy Consulting, a firm based in Massachusetts that tracks and analyzes cannabis data, estimates that cannabis sales from licensed dispensaries in the state could reach $1 billion within about two years.
Assuming lawmakers come to terms on the finer details of licensing, regulation and taxation of the industry, recreational cannabis use in Maryland would become legal on July 1, thanks to a referendum passed by voters in November by a 2-to-1 margin.
The estimate of $1 billion in sales by the 20th month after legalization comes from a November survey about cannabis consumption in the state. Although about 4,600 Marylanders were screened for the survey, slightly more than 2,100 people, from 413 of the state’s 468 zip codes, completed it.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by William J. Ford over at Maryland Matters
