February 2026 Newsletter
Maryland Signals a New Wave of Cannabis Openings, Real Estate Moves First
Maryland regulators are forecasting a meaningful jump in new licensed cannabis storefronts and operations later this year, with state leadership pointing to roughly 60 potential openings by fall as social equity winners move from conditional status into real world buildouts.
That pipeline puts compliant sites in the spotlight. Zoning approvals, lease negotiations, inspections, and financing are emerging as the true pace setters, which means the groups that lock down properly zoned properties early are often the ones who can open the doors first.
With Maryland’s legal market posting about $1.17B in 2025 sales and more operators racing to scale, control of real estate is becoming a competitive advantage. The cleanest deals are the ones that pair licensing progress with a location that already fits security, workflow, and local compliance from day one.
Schedule III Could Unlock a Massive Cannabis Tax Break and Shift the Real Estate Playbook
A move to reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III could quickly reshape the economics of state legal operators by removing Internal Revenue Code Section 280E, the rule that blocks standard business deductions for cannabis. Industry estimates put the potential tax relief at roughly $2.3 billion, meaning many operators could finally be taxed more like every other business.
That change is more than a tax story. The article explains how 280E has quietly regulated the industry by squeezing cash flow, steering companies toward unconventional financing, and pushing operators to split out separate entities for activities that do not touch the plant, including real estate management and back office functions. If 280E disappears, expect cleaner structures, simpler leases, and faster scaling decisions.
With legal cannabis now supporting more than 400,000 jobs and revenues having more than tripled over the past decade, the next competitive edge may be execution: securing compliant locations, building inventory ready facilities, and locking in landlord terms while the capital picture improves. When taxes stop penalizing growth, real estate becomes the runway.
Legal Marijuana Market Outlook Points to Rapid Growth and Rising Demand for Compliant Space
A new global market report projects the legal cannabis industry continuing its sharp expansion, with the market rising from $26.56B in 2024 to $32.31B in 2025, then climbing to $84.8B by 2030. That kind of growth tends to show up first in real estate: more buildouts, more relocations, and more urgency for green-zoned, inspection-ready facilities.
The report highlights momentum from broader medical adoption, expanding product formats, and larger scale cultivation investment. Translation for operators: power, water, security, and workflow become the real bottlenecks.
As capital returns to the sector, location quality and regulatory fit will separate winners from everyone else. The best deals pair a strong market thesis with a property that is already aligned to local rules, utilities, and expansion plans.
Buyers ask constantly: is the license or the property worth more in this deal? The answer depends. In cannabis, value tends to follow scarcity, and scarcity shifts by market, timing, and regulation.
Early market rollouts often make the license the bottleneck, because limited issuance creates instant pricing power. As markets mature, the constraint frequently flips. Zoning, buffers, power, security, and compliant layouts can make real estate the harder asset to replace, especially when licenses become easier to obtain.
This piece breaks down how to spot the true choke point before you price a deal. It is a practical lens for investors, operators, and sellers who want to understand what actually protects enterprise value in a specific market.