Why you shouldn't throw away your Maryland medical marijuana card

Medical marijuana cardholders in Maryland should hang onto those cards even after July 1.

Why it matters: Maryland's recreational marijuana market is slated to begin sales next month, but the medical market isn't going away — and provides benefits to patients beyond what recreational consumers can get.

State of play: Medical cardholders will still have access to medical-grade marijuana products, the state cannabis regulatory agency tells Axios.

• Additionally, dispensaries — recreational or not — will be required to offer patient-only hours and certain patient checkout registers. Medical patients purchasing medical products will be exempt from the 9% sales and use tax.
• Dispensaries will have to reserve a reasonable amount of their products exclusively for medical users.

What they're saying: Once recreational use becomes legal, some states have seen the number of medical cardholders drop, says Michael Johnson, CEO of Metrc, an organization contracted to help regulate the Maryland cannabis market.

• Maryland's recreational market may take some time to get up and running as infrastructure is built to support consumers, Johnson tells Axios, which makes a medical card all that more valuable.
• "For example, medical license deliveries are legal in Maryland for Maryland [medical] licensees, but adult use [delivery] isn't expected until next year for delivery."