October 4, 2019

Ms. Zenita Hurley

Chief Counsel for Civil Rights
Office of the Attorney General
200 St. Paul Place
Baltimore, MD 21202

Dear Ms. Hurley:

The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland Inc.(LBCM) has worked extremely hard,
with the assistance of your office and the Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Cannabis
Commission to have House Bill 2 (2018 Legislative Session) enacted into law. Our
respective organizations, followed the enactment of HB2 to get approved the
regulations that would further ensure the needed diversity. To date, there is only one
black owned company with a Grower and a Processor license (still in the Pre-
Approval status), operating in the State of Maryland. The LBCM was extremely
pleased with the fact that Governor Hogan ordered and has completed, a disparity
study that showed clearly that African Americans and Native American Indians
were the 2 ethnic groups that were disproportionately impacted by marijuana laws in
our country and state, more than any other ethnic group. Our expectation, was that
the new licenses, 4 Grower and 10 Processor, created as a result of HB2, were to be
targeted for minorities, with an emphasis as described in the regulations, for African
Americans and Native American Indians. At this point, I want to share my
disappointment that the MMCC were about to issue pre-approval letters to
companies, outside the State of Maryland, that don’t come close to being minority
owned companies. We repeatedly cautioned the Commission against allowing
companies to use minorities as a figure-head owner, for the purpose of hiding the
true ownership of their companies.
On Wednesday, October 2, 2019, Delegate Cheryl D. Glenn, and I met with close to
a hundred applicants who had applied and were rejected by the MMCC, some were
groups representing the same company. Delegates Glenn and I were shocked by the
detailed information shared that showed a complete failure by the MMCC to oversee
a fair application process.

 There were multiple problems with the online application process, including the
crash of the portal system on the deadline of May 24, 2019;
 As a result of the crash of the portal system, on June 11, 2019, applicants and the
general public were notified that the process would be re-opened to applicants as
well as the general public. This process should have been exclusive to the
applicants that submitted and paid the requisite application fee by May 24, 2019.
The establishment of a NEW deadline, created an unfair advantage to new
applicants. We believe this also allowed large multi-state operators to come into
 Maryland without truly living up to the diversity standards of the guidance provided by the
emergency legislation, HB2;
 During the period of May 24 – June 11, information was shared amongst applicants and potential
non-applicants that might not have been disclosed but for the fact that applicants thought the
process was closed;
 Time and time again, the MMCC changed the rules or move the goal post to accommodate their
needs, yet expected the applicants – many coming from the most disadvantaged and underserved
communities within our State – to be held to both vague and unattainably high standards;
 There were discrepancies between how the applications were supposed to be judged versus what
the Morgan State review team stated over the telephone at the September 18, 2019 meeting. An
audio recording in the form of minutes have not yet been made publicly available to date.
Understanding the review process, provides an opportunity for transparency and independent
monitoring. Applicants who have applied for licenses in other states, are very troubled by the
evaluation used by Morgan State;
 Applicants have not been informed as to which points were assigned by Morgan State, and which
were assigned by the MMCC;
 The EDA requirements have created multiple questions and concerns;
These are just a few of the issues that have been raised by applicants, as well as the LBCM.
We are requesting the following:
1. An official legal inquiry must be made to Joy Strand, former Executive Director, to disclose
whether or not she has a relative who is part of a team that applied for one of the licenses. What
is the name of her relative and what is the familial relationship? Which company is her relative
involved with and what is the relationship or title they have with the company?
2. No pre-approvals of any licenses should be promised to or offered to any applicant team, until
such time all questions/concerns are satisfied as raised by the LBCM and the applicants.
Additionally, the LBCM should be informed PRIOR to any information being sent to any
applicant, giving the expectation that pre-approval for a license will be forthcoming.
3. ALL communications to applicants who received a notice that they were ranked in the top tier
and would now be subject to further investigation, should be resent with a clarification that those
notices should not have been sent because none of the required investigations had been
completed.
4. We have many other issues that will be disclosed to you at our upcoming meeting on Thursday,
October 10, 2019.
The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland remains steadfast in our mission to ensure that the Medical
Cannabis industry in the State of Maryland will reflect the diversity population. We insist on the inclusion
of minority ownership. I thank you for your efforts in assisting us achieve our goals.

Sincerely,

Darryl Barnes
Delegate Darryl Barnes
Chairman, Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, Inc.