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Public Meeting #35 – Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission

Date: November 16, 2023
Video Link: YouTube

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Meeting Opening

Moderator:
Good afternoon, everybody. Hopefully, you can hear me. Let me make sure I… If you can, the chairman will be with us in just a minute. I’ve just been on the phone with him. He’s having difficulty connecting. There’s been some problems, so we’re trying to get him in another way. I’ll go off-camera for a couple of minutes and hopefully have more updates soon.

(Audio issues and connectivity troubleshooting.)

Chairman:
All right. Can you hear me?

Attendee:
Yes.

Chairman:
C. Jeff, can you hear me?

C. Jeff:
Yes. Test, test, test. Can you hear us?

Moderator:
I don’t think he can. He may need to push one more button on his phone. My guess is he’s using his phone. I’ll call him real quick and see if I can walk him through that part.

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Meeting Officially Begins

Chairman:
Sorry for the inconvenience, everyone. We’re opening the Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission meeting for November 16, 2023, at 3:09 p.m. Let’s begin with roll call:

• Chairman: Present
• Vice Chair: Present
• Secretary: Present
• Commissioner Eric Morset: Present
• Commissioner Betty Buck: Not yet present

Since we don’t have a quorum yet, we can’t approve minutes. We’ll proceed with the Executive Director’s Report while we wait.

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Executive Director’s Report

Executive Director:
This is an unusual situation. Without a quorum, I’m not sure if we can officially record minutes. However, I’ll give my report, and we can document it for reference.

Activity Report Since Last Meeting

• In the last reporting period, we’ve handled 23 enforcement events involving alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis.
• Significant seizures include:
  • 126,595 individual sticks of tobacco products
  • 1,333 packs of contraband cigarettes
  • 198 containers of beer seized
  • Tax loss to Maryland from seized tobacco products: $74,834.10
  • Tax loss from seized cigarettes: $48,828.75

Special Enforcement at Ravens Stadium

• At the request of Baltimore City and the Ravens organization, we investigated unlicensed alcohol vendors during two games.
• First visit: Provided training and information, issued warnings.
• Second visit: Many unlicensed vendors returned, so we seized alcohol and issued citations.

Statewide Enforcement Actions

We have conducted enforcement actions across multiple counties, including:

• Dorchester, Prince George’s, Baltimore County, Allegany, Wicomico, Anne Arundel, Cecil, Baltimore City, and Carroll County.

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Inspection & Compliance Updates

• 797 tobacco inspections completed this year.
• 587 alcohol inspections conducted.
• 567 cannabis inspections performed.

We will continue monthly updates on inspection numbers to keep track of compliance efforts.

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Cannabis Outreach Program

• Since the Cannabis Reform Act passed, we’ve conducted 12 county outreach meetings with law enforcement and officials.
• Recent meetings: Cecil County and Somerset County.
• These meetings improve communication, prevent unlicensed sales, and led to a major cannabis seizure in Baltimore City.

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Community & Stakeholder Engagement

• Attended community meeting on cannabis dispensary issues in Baltimore.
  • Concerns: Parking, littering, long lines, and public cannabis use.
  • Business owners and law enforcement were present to address concerns.
• Participated in Maryland Alcohol Work Group meeting.
  • A continuation of last year’s Alcohol Summit to address industry challenges and propose solutions.
• Attended Maryland Alcohol Producers Commission Meeting to discuss tourism and funding grants for wineries, breweries, and distilleries.
• Presented at Maryland Tobacco Summit, discussing statewide enforcement and violation hearings.

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Personnel & Staffing Updates

• 4 new agents hired in early November.
• 5 additional agents starting in December.
• New Communications Officer starting November 22.
• Trade Practices Officer hires:
  • 1 confirmed hire starts November 29.
  • Waiting for confirmation from the second candidate.

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Introduction of Executive Associate – Jessica Honeycut

Executive Director:
I’m excited to introduce Jessica Honeycut, our new Executive Associate. She is an excellent addition and will help modernize our operations.

Jessica Honeycut:
Hi, everyone. I’m excited to be here. I previously worked with the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, supporting executive leadership and managing stakeholder relations. I look forward to supporting the Commission in any way I can.

Chairman:
Welcome, Jess!

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Closing & Adjournment

Chairman:
Does anyone have any new business to bring before the commission?

(No new business was raised.)

Since we don’t have a quorum, we cannot take official actions. The meeting is adjourned.

Next Meeting: TBD

Chairman:
Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving!

(Meeting adjourned.)