Counting Maryland Cannabis
Maryland’s Legal Cannabis Market Delivers $28.7 Million Tax Windfall
Maryland’s legal cannabis industry generated nearly $28.7 million in state tax revenue during a three-month period, highlighting the skyrocketing financial impact of adult-use cannabis sales.
According to the Comptroller of Maryland’s Maryland Quarterly Cannabis Update: April 2026–June 2026, the state collected $28,685,226 in cannabis sales and use taxes during the second quarter of 2026. The report, issued by Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman’s office, tracks revenue from Maryland’s five cannabis tax-remittance regions and explains how the money is distributed.
The Central Region produced the largest share—more than $12.1 million—followed by the Capital Region, which generated approximately $6.3 million. Western Maryland contributed about $5.1 million, while the Eastern and Southern regions produced roughly $3.4 million and $1.7 million, respectively.
Maryland currently imposes a 12 percent sales and use tax on retail purchases of adult-use cannabis and cannabis products. That rate increased from 9 percent on July 1, 2025, under the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2025. The additional three percentage points are initially directed to the Maryland General Fund.
The quarter’s revenue is being divided among several public priorities. More than $5.6 million was allocated to the Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund, which supports community-based programs in areas disproportionately affected by cannabis prohibition enforcement before July 1, 2022.
The Maryland Cannabis Administration and the Maryland Department of Social and Economic Mobility each received approximately $2.7 million. Counties and municipalities, the Cannabis Public Health Fund and the Cannabis Business Assistance Fund each received about $809,000. After the required distributions, approximately $8.1 million remained for the state’s General Fund.
The revenue surge demonstrates that Maryland’s legal cannabis market has quickly become more than a new retail industry. In a single quarter, it generated substantial funding for state operations, local governments, public-health initiatives, small-business development and investments in communities that carried the heaviest burden of earlier cannabis policies.
The full report, formally titled Maryland Quarterly Cannabis Update: April 2026–June 2026, Q2, is available from the Comptroller of Maryland.
