Maryland Cannabis CRRF MaCo 2026: What County Officials Are Discussing at the Ocean City Conference

Maryland Cannabis CRRF MaCo 2026: What County Officials Are Discussing at the Ocean City Conference

Maryland's county leaders are heading to Ocean City this week, and cannabis money is on the agenda.

The Maryland Association of Counties (MaCo) Annual Summer Conference opens August 12 at the Roland Powell Convention Center in Ocean City, Maryland. Themed "Build What's Next," the four-day gathering brings together county executives, commissioners, state legislators, and agency heads to work through the policy and funding challenges shaping Maryland's future. Among the most closely watched sessions this year: a one-hour panel on the Cannabis Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund — the mechanism directing cannabis tax revenue back into the communities most affected by decades of prohibition enforcement.

The Maryland cannabis CRRF MaCo 2026 session takes place Friday, August 14, from 2:15 to 3:15 PM.

What Is MaCo and Why Does It Matter for Cannabis?

MaCo represents all 24 Maryland counties and Baltimore City. The Summer Conference is where county officials align with state government on legislation, funding, and program implementation — the place where policy frameworks meet local reality.

Cannabis is no longer a fringe topic at a gathering like this. Maryland's adult-use market launched in July 2023, and by fiscal year 2026 the state was collecting cannabis tax revenue on pace to exceed $100 million for the year. A significant share of that flows directly to counties through the CRRF. How those dollars are managed, spent, and accounted for is now a county-level operational question — which is exactly why it has its own panel at MaCo.

The Session: "Reinvesting in Maryland"

The official title of the August 14 session is "Reinvesting in Maryland: Cannabis Revenue, Community Repair, and Economic Opportunity."

The panel covers three main tracks:

• Regulatory updates — new guidelines for how counties can legally spend CRRF dollars, including eligible uses like affordable housing, workforce development, violence prevention, and public health.

• Economic equity — strategies from the Office of Social Equity (OSE) to make sure CRRF investments are community-informed and reach Disproportionately Impacted Areas (DIAs).

• Local impact — real examples of counties putting the fund to work, and the practical challenges of building compliant Community Distribution Plans.

Moderated by Sen. Antonio Hayes, who has been one of the most vocal state legislators on cannabis equity, the panel features three officials at the center of CRRF implementation.

The Speakers

Walter Simmons, Secretary, Maryland Department of Social and Economic Mobility (DoSEM)

Secretary Simmons leads the first cabinet-level agency in the nation created specifically to remove structural barriers to upward mobility. DoSEM houses the Office of Social Equity, the state body responsible for CRRF oversight and distribution guidance. Simmons has been actively connecting the cannabis equity framework to broader economic development — most recently through the "Open Roads B2B Tour," linking social equity cannabis licensees with minority-owned businesses across the supply chain. His remarks at MaCo will likely focus on how CRRF funds fit into Maryland's larger mobility and equity agenda.

Michael Bayrd, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, Office of the Comptroller of Maryland

The Comptroller's Office tracks and reports cannabis tax revenue on a quarterly basis. Bayrd's role in intergovernmental affairs puts him at the intersection of state revenue policy and county-level distribution. Attendees can expect him to address where the money stands — and what counties need to do to access and account for their allocations correctly.

Erin Shearman Karpewicz, Executive Director, Arundel Community Development Services

Karpewicz brings the county implementation perspective directly to the panel. Arundel Community Development Services is the nonprofit arm of Anne Arundel County government focused on housing, behavioral health, and economic opportunity. Her presence grounds the conversation in what CRRF funding actually looks like when it reaches a real community program — and what the barriers look like from the delivery side.

What Is the CRRF?

The Cannabis Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund was established by the Cannabis Reform Act of 2023. It directs 35% of Maryland's adult-use cannabis excise tax revenue to local jurisdictions, with funds prioritized for communities with historically elevated cannabis enforcement rates.

The formula is rooted in justice: counties receive distributions based on their share of cannabis possession charges from 2002 to 2023. The higher a jurisdiction's historical enforcement burden, the larger its potential allocation.

Key rules governing the fund:

• No law enforcement funding. CRRF dollars cannot go to police agencies or enforcement activities.

• No supplanting. Counties cannot replace existing program funding with CRRF money. It must expand or create new services.

• Community Distribution Plans required. Each county must develop a public plan — including stakeholder engagement and a formal public hearing — before distributing funds locally.

By early 2026, the fund had collected over $89 million at the state level. Individual county allocations range widely. Baltimore County launched a $13.2 million CRRF Community Grant Program in March 2026. Charles County approved an $811,000 budget for FY2026. St. Mary's County, working with roughly $1.5 million accumulated to date, was moving forward in July 2026 on an ordinance establishing a local grant process.

For a deeper look at how the CRRF works and what it means for Maryland's cannabis market, read our full explainer: Maryland's Cannabis Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund, Explained.

Why County-Level Implementation Is the Hard Part

Passing legislation and collecting revenue is the straightforward half. Getting money into communities correctly is where the work gets complicated.

Each of Maryland's 24 counties and Baltimore City operates on its own timeline, with its own administrative capacity, political priorities, and community needs. Some jurisdictions — like Baltimore County and Calvert County — moved quickly, standing up grant programs within months of receiving allocations. Others are still in the planning phase as of August 2026, working through required public processes before a single dollar can be distributed.

The MaCo panel reflects this uneven landscape. The questions county officials bring to Ocean City are practical: What qualifies as an eligible expense? How do we document community engagement in a way that satisfies state requirements? Can we partner with neighboring counties to run a joint grant program? What happens if a distribution plan gets challenged?

These are not abstract policy questions. They determine whether cannabis tax revenue reaches the people and communities it was designed to serve.

The MaCo session also arrives as Maryland's cannabis regulatory environment continues to evolve. The Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) finalized a round of regulatory amendments in 2026 addressing packaging, labeling, and social equity licensing requirements — changes that affect the broader market context in which CRRF funds operate. For more on those changes, see our coverage: Maryland MCA Regulatory Amendments: Packaging and Social Equity 2026.

What This Means for Maryland Cannabis Consumers

The CRRF is not a consumer-facing program — shoppers at a Maryland dispensary or ordering delivery do not interact with it directly. But it is the reason Maryland's adult-use framework was politically viable in the first place.

Cannabis legalization passed in Maryland in part because the revenue structure included a commitment to repair. The CRRF is that commitment made concrete. Every cannabis purchase in Maryland generates tax revenue, and 35% of the state's share flows into a fund built explicitly to address the communities hardest hit by the War on Drugs.

When county officials sit down in Ocean City on August 14, they are doing the unglamorous work of making that commitment real — writing grant criteria, hiring program staff, navigating state reporting requirements, and figuring out how to spend public money fairly and effectively.

For Maryland cannabis consumers who care about where the market is heading and what their purchases support, this session is worth knowing about.

Looking Ahead

The MaCo conference runs through August 15. The cannabis CRRF session is one of dozens of policy panels covering everything from AI in county government to infrastructure financing. But for anyone watching Maryland's cannabis market and the social equity story running alongside it, the August 14 session is the one to follow.

If you are a Maryland resident looking to support the local cannabis ecosystem — and want access to compliant, quality-tested products from a delivery service that knows the DMV market — visit the Bud Lords shop and browse what is available in your area.

For more Maryland cannabis news, policy coverage, and product guides, head to the Bud Lords Cannabis Newsroom.

This article was researched and written with AI assistance by the Bud Lords AI Newsroom.