[Baltimore Sun] Carroll officials to discuss using state cannabis sale proceeds for local agencies
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During the Board of County Commissioners’ regular weekly meeting Thursday, officials are expected to decide on how to use tax revenue from the sale of recreational cannabis.
Maryland imposes a 9% state sales tax on adult-use cannabis, and per a state statute, 35% of the proceeds are allocated to the Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund, which is intended to support communities disproportionately affected by the enforcement of laws banning cannabis.
In the 2023 General Assembly session, lawmakers passed legislation authorizing the state fund to distribute money to communities that a new state Office of Social Equity, in consultation with the attorney general, determines were “the most impacted by disproportionate enforcement of the cannabis prohibition before July 1, 2022.” The social equity office is charged with promoting full participation in the cannabis industry, especially involving people from such communities.
The proceeds can be used for mental health services, after-school programs, housing, professional development for adults, entrepreneurship and economic development, nonprofit training and workforce development and training.
“Local governments are not held to these uses, but the fund cannot be used for law enforcement or to replace local government funding of current programs,” a county briefing paper states.
The county has already received its first quarterly payment of $84,618 from the state. Commissioners at an April 21 public hearing heard from agencies describing how the tax revenue could benefit them.
The agencies included the Department of Human Services of Carroll County, the Carroll County Health Department’s Bureau of Prevention and Recovery and the Carroll County Department of Workforce Development.
Meanwhile, commissioners have been vocal in their opposition to the sale of recreational cannabis and have yet to adopt a zoning ordinance that would regulate marijuana sales in the county.
As of July 1, 2023, individuals 21 and older can legally use, possess and consume up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis flower, 12 grams of concentrated cannabis, or a total amount of cannabis products that does not exceed 750 mg of THC in Maryland. This amount is known as the “personal use amount.”
The commissioners meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., in Room 311 of the County Office Building, 225 N. Center St., in Westminster. The meeting is livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/@CarrollCountyGov. Anyone can make public comment at the meeting, in person or online. Those wishing to attend online should call 872-240-3212 and enter access code 317-923-893 to join the meeting.
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