Hundreds of hopeful entrepreneurs will learn on Thursday if they’re one step closer to starting a cannabis business in Maryland, a state-regulated industry experts have estimated could take in more than $1 billion in annual sales.
Each of the more than 1,500 eligible applicants have checked all the boxes in a multistep vetting process to qualify as what’s been dubbed a “social equity” applicant for their shot at one of the 179 licenses being distributed in this first of three possible licensing rounds.
The Maryland Cannabis Administration will announce the lottery winners over a livestream scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. that could take between four and five hours. But to eliminate shadowy companies courting eligible people to apply for the licenses, the winners will face a second round of vetting before they’re awarded a conditional license.
Maryland Cannabis Administration Director Will Tilburg said last fall his team in the Office of Social Equity discovered straw companies attempting to apply for the licenses.
To prevent these companies from using someone else’s address and background to obtain a scarce — and potentially lucrative — cannabis business license, the Cannabis Administration will investigate the business relationships and agreements between owners and partners to ensure the social equity applicant or applicants would in fact own a 65% stake in the business.