What was once a budding industry is expected to expand even more in Maryland, helping cannabis users find pain relief and an improved quality of life, according to a dispensary founder.
Tabatha Robinson, the new director of the Maryland Cannabis Administration, aims to increase accessibility to cannabis products and provide more options to cannabis users in the state.
More operators will join the industry, especially through social equity licensing — the Maryland Office of Social Equity seeks to foster an “inclusive adult-use cannabis market” that supports populations that have been disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs.
What does this mean for Marylanders?
“We expect a lot more brands coming into the market,” Robinson says. “That often leads to more options within product categories, so we’re excited to see a lot more variation in the market to appeal to the different types of consumers Maryland has.”
Warren Lemley, the chairman of Maryland Dispensary Association’s legislative policy committee, says he is already seeing “a lot of” licensees statewide recently awarded their dispensary licenses.
Lemley is also the co-founder and president of Peake ReLeaf, a cannabis dispensary in Rockville that will benefit from these changes. The small local business’ most popular offering is cannabis flower. The dispensary also sells concentrate, rosin, prerolls, medicated chews, vape cartridges, ingestible oil and edibles.
Lemley says he and Peake ReLeaf’s 50 employees try to uphold a customer-focused approach.
“We make sure that we have really great inventory for people and also try to maintain items in our inventory that would be appealing to people in the medical [cannabis] community,” Lemley says, adding that he wants Peake ReLeaf to be a “one-stop shop” for both recreational or medicinal users.
Edibles are a fast-growing option, “always increasing” in the cannabis industry, according to Lemley. These come in flavors such as raspberry, sour apple, summer peach and peppermint.
“Edibles is a very enticing product for a lot of people for medical purposes,” he says. “There’s a lot of people who might be averse to smoking that have a really good view on edibles.”
Lemley says he notices a lot of older customers gravitating towards edibles.
“In my opinion, edibles work really well to help people with any pain they might be suffering from,” he says. “It tends to have a longer duration, kind of a more profound effect. You can also tailor the cannabis products to your specific needs because there are a lot of medical products out there that will have a lot of different ratios.”
Someone experiencing pain and inflammation, Lemley says, could benefit from a product containing CBD and THC — compounds found in the cannabis plant. A person having trouble sleeping might be aided by a product with THC and CBN, or cannabinol.
Lemley himself experienced sleep disorders in his early 20s and found relief from using cannabis products. He feels that this personal experience helps him best help customers, many of whom are visiting the dispensary for medicinal needs. Peake ReLeaf also has a clinical director reachable by phone and some of its employees have medical backgrounds.
“I think due to the unique circumstance of the Maryland market — patients [using cannabis] don’t pay taxes — we’ve actually had a more sustained medical program than in most states,” Lemley says.
But there are also customers seeking pain relief that do so recreationally so as to avoid documentation.
“Interestingly enough, there might be people who may be unwilling to be on a list or become a medical patient in fear of how that might affect their job or a circumstance like that,” Lemley says. “So you’ll see some of these people who, in truth, are really medical patients who start to come out and shop at cannabis dispensaries because they finally have access to things like that.”
Customers of Peake ReLeaf tend to be between the ages of 21 and 50, with a large portion of people 50 and older. Lemley sees many regular customers.
“It’s really a vast community of people who have started to see the benefit of cannabis and continue to come in,” Lemley says. “These aren’t people that come in and try our product and they’re done. These tend to be people who come and try out a new item and a new way to address personal health. They see positive results and they continue to come in.”
Lemley, who has advocated for the legalization of marijuana since his teenage years, says the cannabis industry is an exciting one to be in: “We learn more about the plant every day.” He looks forward to pursuing different types of medications and products that he says will improve people’s quality of life.
“If we can expand the products that are available here in Maryland, [you’ll be] seeing a big expansion to beverages that are available for people who may be averse to smoking. We are seeing different pills come into the market; we’re seeing different cannabinoid ratios that are becoming available,” Lemley says. “And I think that the more selection that is available to our customers and our patients, the better it’ll be for their pursuit of a better life.”
