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Medical Cannabis Commission Releases Application Breakdown

November 24th, 2015 by WCBC Radio

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Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (MMCC) today announced the breakdown by senatorial district of all dispensary applications received by the November 6 stage one submission deadline. Those seeking grower and processor licenses were not required to report the jurisdiction in which they propose operations during the first phase of the application process.

The following chart demonstrates the number of dispensary applications received by senatorial district.

D1:      13

D2:      12

D3:      25

D4:      12

D5:      16

D6:      14

D7:      17

D8:      19

D9:      23

D10:    20

D11:    26

D12:    22

D13:    17

D14:    20

D15:    16

D16:    25

D17:    29

D18:    21

D19:    12

D20:    30

D21:    22

D22:    18

D23:    16

D24:    16

D25:    12

D26:    13

D27:    13

D28:    13

D29:    8

D30:    16

D31:    10

D32:    15

D33:    15

D34:    18

D35:    10

D36:    10

D37:     7

D38:    16

D39:    19

D40:    20

D41:    11

D42:    29

D43:     15

D44:    15

D45:    14

D46:    29

D47:    14

 

More information about dispensary, grower and processor applicants is available at http://mmcc.maryland.gov/.

Of the dispensary applications received, eight did not specify the senatorial district in which they propose to operate.

Today, the Commission also released the official number of grower, processor and dispenser license applications received by the November 6 deadline.

On November 12, the Commission released its preliminary and unofficial tally of applications and noted those figures were subject to change. Today’s announcement represents the official count of applications received by the deadline. No applications were accepted by the Commission following the published submission deadline of November 6 at 4 p.m.

Of the 1,081 total applications, the vast majority – 811 – were submitted for dispenser licenses, with a significant number of applicants seeking licensure in each of the state’s senatorial districts. Despite this approach by applicants, regulations prohibit any candidate from receiving more than one dispensary license.

A total of 146 grower license applications were received by the November 6 deadline, as were 124 processor applications.

“We’re pleased to be able to share the official number of applications the Commission received by the submission deadline,” said Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission Executive Director Hannah Byron. “Given the intense interest of the public and the media regarding this process, we have worked to keep the people of Maryland regularly apprised of our progress during this phase of the medical cannabis program. With the tabulations now finalized, we look forward to developing a revised rollout schedule based on the volume of applications received.”

The Commission will work with Towson University’s Regional Economic Studies Institute (RESI) to develop a timeline for the review of the applications. RESI has been commissioned by the MMCC to conduct the professional evaluation of applicants seeking licensure as medical cannabis growers, processors and dispensers within the state. RESI will process the applications that meet the mandatory qualifications criteria; its team will then assign unique identifying numbers to each application and separate each application into sections that will be evaluated by third-party evaluators who are subject matter experts.

Using the scores provided by the subject matter experts, RESI will aggregate the scores from each application, taking into account the weighting comprehensively outlined in the application. RESI will rank the applications based on these scores for the Commission to review. The Commission will make the final decision on issuing licenses.

“As we have always made clear, the final timetable for Maryland’s medical cannabis program would depend on the number of license applications submitted to the Commission by the November 6 deadline,” Byron said. “While we will extend the application review period to accommodate the large number of submissions received, it is premature to offer a revised schedule at this time. We will work with RESI to revise the timeline accordingly and will make an announcement regarding the amended schedule in the near future.”

Upon completion of a comprehensive review of applications, the Commission will award pre-approval, or stage one approval, for a maximum of 15 grower licenses, an unlimited number of processor licenses and up to two dispensaries per each of the state’s senatorial districts. Each applicant issued a stage one approval will have 365 days from the date of notification to complete all necessary steps to obtain a formal license and to request final inspection by the Commission. These steps could include raising capital, acquiring real estate, securing local zoning approvals, construction of facilities, installation of equipment and systems and the hiring and training of staff.

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