Update! MCA thanks all stakeholders who submitted informal comments on the draft NOPA between April 15 and April 29, 2026. MCA carefully considered feedback and submitted a Notice of Proposed Action (NOPA) to the Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review (AELR) committee on May 18, 2026. MCA anticipates the NOPA will print in the Maryland Register at the end of June 2026. At that time, stakeholders will have 30 days to send formal public comment to [email protected]. 

The purposes of the draft regulatory amendments are to:

1. Define medical & therapeutic claims;

2. Allow conditional licensees to request up to two 6-month extensions based on certain criteria;

3. Establish minimum standards for licensed growers to protect the rights of growers and employees. 

4. Codify grower corrective and preventive action (CAPA) requirements;

5. In alignment with requirements for standard dispensaries, authorizes MCA to require micro dispensaries to distribute certain point of sale materials to customers;

6. Add sublingual pouches as a new product category with associated product, packaging, and labeling requirements; 

7. Remove “plain” packaging requirement and supplement existing restrictions on youth-appealing packaging; and

8. Establish discovery procedures under COMAR 14.17.22.09.

These amendments also include other minor clarifications to correct typos or align with current policy. These changes do not alter any existing processes and are not anticipated to have any operational impact on stakeholders.