FIRST MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY APPROVED IN MARYLAND!

By Erin Cox, Baltimore Sun

Regulators approved Maryland’s first medical marijuana dispensary on Wednesday, authorizing a Frederick company to open its doors immediately even though the drug will not be available for months.

The Wellness Institute of Maryland plans to start seeing patients Thursday and take what owner Michael Kline called “pre-orders” for cannabis.

“We are fully equipped to deliver medicine as soon as we have it,” Kline said minutes after the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission approved his license.

Although Maryland legalized medical marijuana more than four years ago, just one firm is authorized to grow it. That first crop is not expected to be ready until after Labor Day.

The commission also on Wednesday delayed a vote to authorize a second grower, Curio Wellness in Baltimore County. A commissioner said the panel has requested additional information from Curio, but would not discuss the issue publicly.

Curio CEO Michael Bronfein called the move “regrettable,” and said the commission never made him aware of any missing information. He said state inspectors approved his facility on June 14.

“Our state of the art facility is ready,” Bronfein said in a statement. “Every day the commission fails to provide our stage two license delays patients access to safe, reliable, and effective medicine.”

The remaining companies picked to launch Maryland’s marijuana growing and processing industry have just six weeks to secure a final license or risk losing out on the state’s lucrative market.