Back to Maryland

HB0622 • 2026

Cannabis - Licensees - Dispensary Licenses, Micro Dispensary Employees, and Cannabis Agent Training Programs

Cannabis - Licensees - Dispensary Licenses, Micro Dispensary Employees, and Cannabis Agent Training Programs

Healthcare Labor
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Chair, Economic Matters Committee (By Request - Maryland Cannabis Administration )
Last action
2026-05-12
Official status
Approved by the Governor - Chapter 375
Effective date
2026-07-01

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not specify how the changes will be enforced or monitored.

Cannabis License and Training Requirements

This law extends the period for medical cannabis delivery, increases employee limits for micro dispensaries, changes training requirements for cannabis agents, and prioritizes certain training programs.

What This Bill Does

  • Extends by one year the time period during which a holder of a dispensary license may continue to deliver medical cannabis until July 1, 2027.
  • Increases from 10 to 20 the number of registered cannabis agents a micro dispensary is permitted to employ.
  • Changes training requirements for cannabis agents working at on-site consumption establishments and dispensaries.
  • Requires the Maryland Cannabis Administration to prioritize applications for programs that were previously approved as responsible vendor training programs when reviewing new training programs.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Dispensary license holders
  • Micro dispensary employees
  • Cannabis agents

Terms To Know

Cannabis agent
An employee, volunteer, or authorized person who acts for or at the direction of a cannabis licensee or registrant.
Micro dispensary
A type of dispensary that is allowed to employ up to 20 registered cannabis agents and deliver medical cannabis without a physical storefront.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not specify how the changes will be enforced or monitored.
  • It is unclear what additional training requirements will be added for cannabis agents beyond the current standards.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

303523/1

None

Favorable with Amendments { 303523/1 Adopted

Plain English: AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL 622 (First Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.

  • AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL 622 (First Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.
  • 1 On page 1, in line 2, before “Micro” insert “Dispensary Licenses,”; in the same line, after “Employees” insert a comma; in line 4, after the first “of” insert “ extending the time period during which a holder of a certain dispensary license may continue to deliver medical cannabis; ”; and in line 14, strike “ 36–401(c)(2),” and substitute “ 36- 401(c)(2) and (g),”.
  • AMENDMENT NO.
  • 2 On page 2, in line 9, strike “employees” and substitute “REGISTERED CANNABIS AGENTS”; after line 9, insert: “(g) Notwithstanding any provisions of this title , the holder of a dispensary license issued by the Natalie M.
963826/1

None

Favorable with Amendments { 963826/1 Adopted

Plain English: AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL 622 (Third Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.

  • AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL 622 (Third Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.
  • 1 On page 1, in line 7, after “agents;” insert “ requiring the Maryland Cannabis Administration to give priority to certain training program s when reviewing cannabis agent training programs for approval;”.
  • AMENDMENT NO.
  • 2 On page 2, in line 22, after “title” insert “: (I) WITHIN 90 DAYS OF A NEW EMPLOYEE ’S START DATE ; AND (II)”; and in line 29, after “title” insert “: (1) WITHIN 90 DAYS OF THE CANNABIS AGENT’S START DATE AS AN EMPLOYEE OF OR VOLUNTEER FOR THE CANNABIS LICENSEE; AND (2)”.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-12 Post Passage

    Approved by the Governor - Chapter 375

  2. 2026-04-08 Senate

    Favorable with Amendments Report by Finance

  3. 2026-03-26 House

    House Concurs Senate Amendments

  4. 2026-03-26 House

    Third Reading Passed (100-31)

  5. 2026-03-26 House

    Passed Enrolled

  6. 2026-03-21 Senate

    Third Reading Passed (30-12)

  7. 2026-03-20 Senate

    Hearing 3/25 at 1:00 p.m.

  8. 2026-03-20 Senate

    Favorable with Amendments { 963826/1 Adopted

  9. 2026-03-20 Senate

    Second Reading Passed with Amendments

  10. 2026-03-16 House

    Favorable with Amendments Report by Economic Matters

  11. 2026-03-05 House

    Third Reading Passed (119-12)

  12. 2026-03-03 House

    Hearing canceled

  13. 2026-03-03 House

    Hearing 3/04 at 1:30 p.m.

  14. 2026-03-03 House

    Favorable with Amendments { 303523/1 Adopted

  15. 2026-03-03 House

    Second Reading Passed with Amendments

  16. 2026-03-03 Senate

    Referred Finance

  17. 2026-02-09 House

    Hearing 3/04 at 1:00 p.m.

  18. 2026-01-30 House

    First Reading Economic Matters

  19. Maryland General Assembly

    Text - First - Cannabis - Licensees - Micro Dispensary Employees and Cannabis Agent Training Programs

  20. Maryland General Assembly

    Vote - House - Committee - Economic Matters

  21. Maryland General Assembly

    Text - Third - Cannabis - Licensees - Dispensary Licenses, Micro Dispensary Employees, and Cannabis Agent Training Programs

  22. Maryland General Assembly

    Vote - Senate - Committee - Finance

  23. Maryland General Assembly

    Text - Enrolled - Cannabis - Licensees - Dispensary Licenses, Micro Dispensary Employees, and Cannabis Agent Training Programs

  24. Maryland General Assembly

    Text - Chapter - Cannabis - Licensees - Dispensary Licenses, Micro Dispensary Employees, and Cannabis Agent Training Programs

Official Summary Text

Extending by one year the time period during which a holder of a certain dispensary license may continue to deliver medical cannabis; increasing from 10 to 20 the number of individuals a micro dispensary is permitted to employ; altering certain provisions relating to training requirements for certain cannabis agents; and requiring the Maryland Cannabis Administration to give priority to applications for programs that were previously approved as responsible vendor training programs when reviewing training programs for approval.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
Italics indicate opposite chamber/conference committee amendments.
*hb0622*

HOUSE BILL 622
A3 (6lr0090)
ENROLLED BILL
— Economic Matters/Finance —
Introduced by Chair, Economic Matters Committee (By Request – Maryland
Cannabis Administration)

Read and Examined by Proofreaders:

_______________________________________________
Proofreader.
_______________________________________________
Proofreader.

Sealed with the Great Seal and presented to the Governor, for his approval thi s

_______ day of _______________ at ________________________ o’clock, ________M.

______________________________________________
Speaker.

CHAPTER ______

AN ACT concerning 1

Cannabis – Licensees – Dispensary Licenses, Micro Dispensary Employees, and 2
Cannabis Agent Training Programs 3

FOR the purpose of extending the time period during which a holder of a certain dispensary 4
license may continue to deliver medical cannabis; increasing the number of 5
individuals a micro dispensary is permitted to employ; altering certain provisions 6
relating to training requirements for certain cannabis agents; requiring the 7
Maryland Cannabis Administration to give priority to certain training programs 8
when reviewing cannabis agent training programs for approval; and generally 9
relating to cannabis licensees. 10

BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 11
Article – Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis 12
Section 36–101(a) and (d) 13
2 HOUSE BILL 622

Annotated Code of Maryland 1
(2024 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 2

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 3
Article – Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis 4
Section 36–401(c)(2), 36–401(c)(2) and (g), 36–407(h), 36 –501(f), 36 –1001, and 5
36–1002 6
Annotated Code of Maryland 7
(2024 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 8

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 9
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 10

Article – Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis 11

36–101. 12

(a) In this title the following words have the meanings indicated. 13

(d) “Cannabis agent” means an employee, a volunteer, or any other authorized 14
person who acts for or at the direction of a cannabis licensee or cannabis registrant. 15

36–401. 16

(c) (2) A micro license authorizes the holder of the license: 17

(i) for growers, to operate not more than 10,000 square feet of indoor 18
canopy or its equivalent, as calculated by the Administration; 19

(ii) for processors, to process not more than 2,000 pounds of cannabis 20
per year, as calculated by the Administration; and 21

(iii) for dispensaries, to operate a delivery service that sells cannabis 22
or cannabis products without a physical storefront, provided that the licensee employs not 23
more than [10] 20 employees REGISTERED CANNABIS AGENTS. 24

(g) Notwithstanding any provisions of this title, the holder of a dispensary license 25
issued by the Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Cannabis Commission who converts the license 26
or a registrant with the Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Cannabis Commission may continue 27
to deliver medical cannabis until July 1, [2026] 2027. 28

36–407. 29

(h) An on–site consumption establishment shall: 30

HOUSE BILL 622 3

(1) require all employees to successfully complete an annual [responsible 1
vendor] A CANNABIS AGENT training program authorized under this title: 2

(I) WITHIN 90 DAYS OF A NEW EMPLOYEE’S START DATE; AND 3

(II) AT LEAST ONCE EVERY 2 YEARS; and 4

(2) ensure that the display and consumption of cannabis or cannabis 5
products are not visible from outside of the licensed premises. 6

36–501. 7

(f) A cannabis licensee shall require each registered cannabis agent to complete 8
an annual [responsible vendor] A CANNABIS AGENT training program authorized under 9
this title: 10

(1) WITHIN 90 DAYS OF THE CANNABIS AGENT’S START DATE AS AN 11
EMPLOYEE OF OR VOLUNTEER FOR THE CANNABIS LICENSEE; AND 12

(2) AT LEAST ONCE EVERY 2 YEARS. 13

36–1001. 14

(a) To offer a responsible medical or adult –use cannabis [vendor, server, and 15
seller] AGENT training program, a person shall submit an application to the 16
Administration. 17

(b) The Administration shall approve the application if the proposed training 18
program meets the minimum educational standards established under subsection (c) of this 19
section. 20

(c) At a minimum, a training program must: 21

(1) be taught in a classroom or virtual setting for at least a 2–hour period; 22

(2) establish program standards, including certification and recertification 23
requirements, record keeping, testing and assessment protocols, and effectiveness 24
evaluations; and 25

(3) provide a core curriculum of relevant statutory and regulatory 26
provisions AS REQUIRED BY REGUL ATIONS ADOPTED BY TH E ADMINISTRATION, 27
which shall include: 28

(i) [information on required licens es, age requirements, patient 29
registry cards issued by the Administration, maintenance of records, privacy issues, and 30
unlawful acts; 31
4 HOUSE BILL 622

(ii)] administrative and criminal liability and license and court 1
sanctions; 2

[(iii)] (II) statutory and regulatory requirements for employees and 3
owners; 4

[(iv) statutory and regulatory requirements related to cannabis sale, 5
transfer, and delivery; 6

(v) acceptable forms of identification, including patient and 7
caregiver identification cards;] 8

[(vi)] (III) State and local licensing and enforcement; and 9

[(vii) information on serving size, THC and cannabinoid potency, and 10
impairment] 11

(IV) PUBLIC HEALTH AND SA FETY STANDARDS RELEV ANT TO 12
EACH LICENSE TYPE. 13

(D) IN REVIEWING APPLICATIONS FOR APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CANNABIS 14
AGENT TRAINING PROGR AMS, THE ADMINISTRATION SHALL GIVE PRIORITY TO 15
APPLICATIONS FOR PRO GRAMS THAT WERE PREV IOUSLY APPROVED AS 16
RESPONSIBLE VENDOR TRAINING PROGRAMS. 17

36–1002. 18

The Administration shall adopt regulations establishing the [responsible vendor ] 19
CANNABIS AGENT training program and the minimum standards for the program. 20

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 21
1, 2026. 22

Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.