Last Saturday of the General Assembly session, the Maryland House and Senate passed a final version of a bill establishing a recreational cannabis market. The bill is finally ready to be sent to the governor’s desk.

governor Wes Moore, who has called the cannabis law “a well-crafted piece of legislation,” is expected to sign it Monday. Legal adult cannabis sales are set to begin on July 1st.

Lawmakers have said all along that they are interested in getting the new industry up and running as quickly as possible to avoid the problems New York and California are facing. To that end, Maryland is creating a framework that allows existing medical marijuana businesses to transform into recreational businesses.

Maneuver the illegal market

“My goal is to ensure that we are not only competitive on the black market, but also cheaper than the black market. Many states have created a stronger black market to their detriment because (cannabis) is so expensive,” he said House Delegate CT Wilson (D), Chair of the House Economic Matters Committee and co-sponsor of the bill.

“We may not make any money from it in the first year if we get it right because I want to make sure again that we’re not trying to get Marylanders high. We’re trying to make sure this isn’t on the black market.”

Senate Treasury Chair Melony Griffith said in a news conference Saturday that lawmakers have spoken to their colleagues in other states and asked what they would do differently if they could.

“We have great expertise here in Maryland with our medicinal cannabis program and have had tremendous success. So, all of these ingredients have been rolled into our cannabis framework, if you will,” Griffith said, according to Maryland Matters.

Maryland voters overwhelming mood (over 65%) for legalizing adult-use cannabis in the November midterms.

Social justice

The 108-page proposal puts the sales tax at 9%, similar to the rate for alcohol but lower…