Getting the first-to-market advantage to establish brand loyalty is critical, Weiss said.
of out-of-state operators consolidating Maryland’s market. The head start will establish customer loyalties and allow industry pioneers to scoop up the choicest parcels of commercial real estate before newcomers can even begin to build new companies, Unruh said.But Uhruh said the approach Maryland took to swiftly establish an adult-use market will likely make marijuana easy to access and cheap in the state — two big boons for consumers and for the effort to quash a black market.
“And then if there’s a disparity study and a problem in the licensing round, then potentially race can be included moving forward,” Tilburg said. “So the state is covering all of its bases.”
Maryland lawmakers decided to launch the adult-use market using only companies selling medical marijuana products, concerned that if vetted and successful firms were not open on July 1, a bricks-and-mortar black market could take hold.