Since June 2024, the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) has issued approximately 191 grower, processor, and dispensary conditional licenses in its first licensing round. Conditional licensees are now in various stages of becoming operational, which includes obtaining local zoning approval for a business location. A conditional licensee must obtain local zoning approval before MCA can issue a final license.

State law delegates authority to Maryland’s counties and municipalities to adopt reasonable zoning requirements for cannabis businesses within the parameters established in Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article §36-410. The MCA is not authorized to make zoning determinations on behalf of political subdivisions and defers to them to make determinations for their communities, provided they are not unduly burdensome, e.g., more restrictive than the parameters in Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article §36-410. 

The General Assembly recently enacted Chapter 120 (Senate Bill 215) of 2025 to address instances where a political subdivision has no local ordinance on distance requirements for cannabis businesses. Effective July 1, 2025, a political subdivision that has not adopted an ordinance under §36–410(c) of the Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article is subject to the statutory distance requirements set forth in 36-410(b). These requirements can be found in the zoning guidance on the MCA Laws and Regulations page. To view the official Legislative Zoning Updates – July 2025 notice on this matter, the MCA’s bulletins and notices page.

Please direct any questions regarding this update to [email protected].