OCEAN CITY, Md. - On Monday the Ocean City Council conducted the first reading of a proposal to modify the town’s cannabis laws. The new regulations would extend the operating hours for cannabis shops from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., an increase from the current 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. schedule. The proposed changes also include restrictions on store locations, mandating that no cannabis shop can be situated within 500 feet of schools, places of worship, or public parks.
Local resident Gilbert Johnson supports the new rules, emphasizing the importance of keeping cannabis retail outlets away from sensitive areas. “It should have a certain type of criteria as to where the marijuana base or whatever they want to do should be located,” Johnson said. “Anything, of course, that is high school or elementary, it shouldn’t even be nowhere near in that area.”
Despite the cannabis dispensary changes from the state, some local business owners are unconcerned. Robert Thompson, who is the Co-Owner of Hi Tide in West Ocean City, stated that his business does not necessarily need the extended hours. “For us, we don’t really require an extension,” Thompson said. “Our business determines what our hours are going to be, depending on what our customers' demands are. We’ve been open from 10am to 7pm now for six years, and after 7:00pm we don’t have a lot of demand.”
The council’s approval of the first reading marks a significant step in updating Ocean City’s cannabis regulations. The proposal will now proceed to a second and final reading for approval. If passed, the changes will bring Ocean City’s laws in line with state standards