According to Maryland state regulators, the state’s cannabis firms will be able to manufacture and sell edible products by late December or early January.
A Bizjournals report has said that regulations allowing for the manufacturing and sale of edible cannabis products in Maryland may be confirmed as soon as December.
The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (MMCC) has now finalized a set of draft regulations around how edibles, or medical cannabis-infused foods and beverages, will be made and sold in the state. The regulations are currently available on the Maryland Register website for a 30-day public comment period.
Taylor Kasky, director of the MMCC’s office of policy and government affairs, said after any necessary adjustments are made to the regulations following the comment period, the rules will be resubmitted for a final 15-day notice period.
Kasky has said that the commission anticipates the regulations will be finalized and cannabis companies will be able to begin manufacturing edibles by late December or early January.
Processors have already started expanding their operations ahead of the launch of Maryland’s edibles program.
Craig Schulman, who is the chairman of Evermore Cannabis Co., said his company took over a large commercial catering operation in Baltimore County while Wendy Bronfein, co-founder of Curio Wellness, said her firm has made additional investments in its Lutherville-Timonium growing and processing operation over the past two years in order to become certified under federal Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations.
“We’re excited to produce what we’re making now at a much larger scale, and to bring some new things to the market,” Schulman said. “There’s really no limit to what we can do once the new kitchen is up and running.”
It was in September that the state’s Medical Cannabis Commission reported that retail sales exceeded $240 million. The amount even surpassed all of last year’s total sales.
Almost $41 million in sales came from dispensaries, a major retail source of cannabis products such as topical creams, fruit drinks and oils.
