By Van Smith

Baltimore, Jan. 13, 2019

If you’re interested in Maryland’s medical-cannabis scene, stay up with the Baltimore Sun‘s Doug Donovan. This week alone, he notched two insightful pieces that can serve as a roadmap of the industry and its issues. First up, on Jan. 9, was an unveiling of what’s likely to be a hot legislative issue in Annapolis this year: whether management agreements that increasingly are allowing med-pot businesses get around rules intended to keep national or out-of-state chains from dominating Maryland’s industry should be reined in. Then, on Jan. 10, Donovan explored the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission‘s new report concluding that, while some anecdotal evidence exists that cannabis can help opioid addicts as they try to kick their habits, scientific evidence is lacking – and some studies show that it can exacerbate dependency issues. (Baltimore City state Del. Cheryl Glenn has, as FSC reported this week, introduced a bill this session in the Maryland General Assembly to add opioid abuse disorder to the list of conditions that can qualify patients for medical-cannibis certification.) Cheers to Donovan for his good work.