Grower Guidance Only & FAQs
The following guidance is provided by the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) to assist cannabis licensees comply with State laws and regulations governing the cannabis industry. This document is not legal advice. It is meant to highlight operational changes for licensed growers. Please consult an attorney if you have any questions regarding the legal requirements that apply.
Highlighted updates
Recent regulatory updates make certain changes for grower licensees effective April 14, 2025, including but not limited to the following:
- The use of sticky cards for pest management is optional.
- Updates to definitions and provisions related to outdoor cultivation (see “Indoor v. Outdoor Cultivation” section below)
- If a licensee finds evidence of theft or diversion, they must report the finding to MCA within 1 business day but are no longer required to notify local law enforcement.
Canopy
A previously licensed grower, i.e. an operational business that holds a license issued prior to December 31, 2022, may expand its canopy from its maximum amount of canopy, as self-reported to the MMCC on or before December 1, 2022, beginning January 1, 2024. The total expanded canopy may not exceed the following limits prior to January 1, 2027:
Beginning on January 1, 2024, a licensee may expand the amount of canopy, only as follows:
- If the canopy is under 25,000 sq. ft., to 25,000 square feet or by 20%, whichever is greater;
- If the canopy is at or above 25,000 sq. ft., by 20%; or
- If the licensee has a sq. ft. expansion that was preapproved before December 31, 2022,the preapproved expansion or 20%, whichever is greater.
In addition, a licensee may only expand the amount of canopy, according to the following schedule:
- Beginning January 1, 2024, the licensee may expand its canopy of operations by not more than 50% of the total square footage authorized under the paragraph above (e.g., up to 50% of any preapproved expansion that was preapproved before December 31, 2022); and
- Beginning May 1, 2024, the licensee may expand its canopy of operations for the remaining total square footage authorized.
NEW! Indoor versus outdoor cultivation
MCA has defined “indoor cultivation” to mean producing cannabis plants in a permanent structure that provides control of environmental conditions using artificial heating, air conditioning, or other climate control. A “permanent structure” means a building, shipping container, greenhouse, or other structure that is used for cultivation for 180 days or more in a one year period.
“Outdoor cultivation” means producing flowering cannabis plants in an area that is directly or indirectly exposed to outdoor elements. In determining whether a cultivation premises qualifies as outdoor, MCA may consider the number of cultivation cycles that can be produced at the facility.
Outdoor cultivation areas are subject to the following additional provisions:
- Be situated to maintain the greatest achievable level of privacy and security.
- Be securely surrounded by fencing and gates constructed to prevent unauthorized entry and be equipped with an alarm system that:
- Covers the entire perimeter;
- Is continuously monitored; and
- Is capable of detecting power loss.
- Protected by a video surveillance recording system to ensure:
- Surveillance of the entire perimeter of the area of cultivation;
- Surveillance over all portions of the security fence and all gates; and
- Adherence to the video surveillance requirements detailed in 14.17.10.02H
- An outdoor grower may modify its security lighting to protect light-dark cycles, provided the security lighting is adequate to satisfy the video surveillance system requirements detailed in COMAR 14.17.10.02.
- To qualify as an outdoor cultivation area, it may not be 1) enclosed by a permanent structure or 2) employ artificial climate control systems.
Home cultivation products
Home cultivation products include clones, seeds, seedlings, stalks, roots, and stems of the cannabis plant. Adult-use consumers and qualifying patients may purchase home cultivation products from licensed dispensaries, including seedlings up to 8 inches tall and 8 inches wide. At this time, a licensed dispensary may only obtain home cultivation products from a licensed grower.
Trade practices
A previously licensed grower, i.e. an operational business that holds a license issued prior to December 31, 2022, is required to make a good faith effort to allow for at least 10 percent of cannabis grown to be transferred to:
- A licensed processor or dispensary that has no common ownership interest or control with the grower licensee; and
- Upon licensure and operation of social equity businesses, a licensed processor or dispensary that is a social equity business.
A previously licensed grower should prioritize social equity licensees. A social equity grower should make a good faith effort to allow for at least 10% of cannabis grown to be transferred to licensees with whom they have no common ownership interest or control. Growers may meet the trade practice requirements through distribution to both processors and dispensaries, as long as they distribute roughly equal amounts to each facility type. The MCA may query METRC for compliance with trade practice requirements.
UPDATED! Discrepancy, theft, and diversion reporting
If a licensee identifies a discrepancy between the inventory of stock and the seed-to-sale tracking system outside or normal weight loss, they must begin an investigation of the discrepancy within 1 business day. If a discrepancy is not resolved within 30 business days, the licensee must submit a report of their investigation to MCA. Failure to report an unresolved discrepancy may be used as evidence of diversion.
If a licensee finds evidence of theft or diversion, the licensee must report the theft or diversion to the Administration within 1 business day. Within 30 business days of discovering the theft, diversion, or unresolved discrepancy, the licensee must:
- Complete an investigation;
- Amend its standard operating procedures, if necessary; and
- Send a report of the investigation to the MCA.
Other operational considerations
- For packaging and labeling guidance, please refer to COMAR 14.17.18 Finished Product Packaging, as well as the General Information and Packaging and Labeling Guidance documents on the Laws and Regulations page.
- A grower may only transfer up to 50 pounds of cannabis to a dispensary in a single transfer.
- Visitors to any operational areas of the premises must be continually, physically supervised at all times while on the premises. Video surveillance does not suffice for meeting supervision requirements. For growers and processors, individuals who are briefly on the premises for the narrow purposes of package delivery, or other services that do not involve areas of the premises used for cannabis cultivation or processing are exempt from this requirement.
Growers FAQs
For a current list of available crop protection agents, click here - PDF.
Growers do contracts with one or more independent testing laboratories for the laboratory to test every batch of medical cannabis to assure that every batch meets approved specifications.
Yes; all growers in Maryland will be subject to inspection.
Evidence that the licensed premises comply with all zoning planning requirements is required in Stage Two of the application process.
The MCA will rely upon the zoning and planning approval issued by the local jurisdiction. The local jurisdiction will determine whether a zoning designation that permits agricultural production included production of medical cannabis. The applicant should take steps to assure that the local jurisdiction has interpreted its zoning code to mean that an agricultural production zoning designation includes production of medical cannabis.
Yes, as long as the premises comply with local zoning and planning codes, and are constructed and organized to maintain security, cleanliness, safety and the required inventory controls, a grower facility and a processor facility may be located on the same property.
The Maryland regulations do not specify a minimum or maximum number of plants that a licensed grower must or may cultivate.
Yes, parties or entities who wish to operate a growing and processing facility, as well as a dispensary, must submit separate license applications for each facility. The MCA may award separate licenses for each operation.
No; the license must provide required agent ID cards to anyone transporting cannabis.
A transportation agent is not required to hold a Maryland driver's license.
Yes; however, the agent would need to register multiple registrations at a charge of $200 per registration.
Yes. A person can be an owner in an entity that obtains a license for each class of activity, and therefore would be an agent for each licensee.
A resident is one who lives in Maryland. A person may demonstrate Maryland residency by providing one or more of the following: 1) Most recent Maryland tax return; 2) Most recent Maryland property tax bill; 3) Local gas and electric bill that is no more than 4 months old; 4) Valid Maryland Driver's license; or 5) Another record that corroborates the Maryland residency.
A business may be registered to conduct business in the State of Maryland. They may either an out-of-state company which is establishing its Maryland existence, and its principal place of business may or may not be Maryland. Alternatively, the business entity could be a "grass roots" company, meaning a business that was founded in Maryland and maintains its principal place of business in Maryland. In either eventuality, a business entity may demonstrate its ability to conduct business in the State of Maryland by providing the following: 1) Articles of Incorporation or Articles of Organization; 2) Certificate of Status (also referred to as a Certificate of Good Standing); and 3) Identification of the Resident Agent.
While any subcontractor may be registered with the MCA, the subcontractor is not required to register with the MCA. However, should the subcontractor not be registered with the MCA, then, they are considered a visitor to a non-public area, and the Grower, Processor, or Dispensary will be required to 1) log the visitor in and out of the premises; 2) retain a photocopy of the visitor’s government-issued identification; 3) continually visually supervise the visitor while on the premises; 4) ensure that the visitor does not touch any plant or medical cannabis; and 5) maintain a log of all visitors to non-public areas for two years.
While a security subcontractor, or any subcontractor may be registered with the MCA, the subcontractor is not required to register with the MCA. However, should the subcontractor not be registered with the MCA, then, they are considered a visitor to a non-public area, and the Grower will be required to 1) log the visitor in and out of the premises; 2) retain a photocopy of the visitor’s government issued identification; 3) continuously visually supervise the visitor while on the premises; 4) ensure that the visitor does not touch any plant or medical cannabis; and 5) maintain a log of all visitors to non-public areas for two years.
Questions?
Use the MCA Policy Question Intake form to submit policy questions related to cannabis regulations, legislation, issued guidance, or licensing. MCA will review submissions and publish an updated FAQ document on the Laws & Regulations page.
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