At least in some parts of the Eastern Shore, if there was a referendum held tomorrow proposing that marijuana be banned in Maryland for the next two centuries, the odds are pretty good that it would pass by an overwhelming majority. While that might be an exaggeration, it is accurate to say that the Shore, with its mostly rural and politically conservative citizens, have a very skeptical view of the use of cannabis for any reason.
But the state in which they reside had quite a different point of view as Maryland joined 29 other states and the District of Columbia in legalizing the medical or recreational use of the plant. And, as a result, Annapolis has recently finalized the issuing of permits for marijuana distribution outlets.
So it may be a shock for those on the Shore to see that one of those medical cannabis dispensaries is almost ready for business in none other than Centreville, Maryland.
Found in a professional park alongside doctor offices and the YMCA, last-minute preparations are underway for the opening of Ash + Ember Cannabis, the commercial name of the store owned by Hippocratic Growth, LLC as it prepares to open its doors as the first legal venue on the Mid-Shore to legally sell medical cannabis.
Adding to this notable moment is the fact that Hippocratic Growth is actually a family business. Sisters, Ashley Herr and Paige Colen, along with the help of other family members, led an almost four-year effort to reach this milestone. Working through state delays on licensing and some opposition from the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners by blocking a building permit (an appeal filed by Hippocratic Growth is pending at the Court of Special Appeal), the opening of Ash + Ember has become an exciting climax to battle long waged.
Unapologetically pro-pot, the sisters see Ash + Ember as the first of many in the eventual legalization of the recreational use of marijuana and therefore have designed a business plan that will eventually transition from a medical dispensary to a well-branded boutique store that will eventually produce and design its products no differently than a beer microbrewery does today.
The Spy sat down with the owners last week at Ash + Ember to talk about this remarkable new chapter in Eastern Shore entrepreneurship.
This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about Ash + Ember Cannabis please go here
Michael Johnson says
If you told me in 1972, the first year I could vote, that we would still be kicking the question of legal marijuana around in 2018 I would have laughed at you. In spite of the liquor lobby and private prison’s best efforts their is little scientific evidence of a downside to legalized marijuana, and this prohibition is absurd. Nothing makes a good story like poor judgement and I have some good stories. Stories about a crushed and detached thumb, ruptured disc, subdoral hematoma, you name it. Consequently I’ve been prescribed enough opioid’s to addict an army , but I never became addicted to opioids. I can tell you first hand that THC has the potential to kick America’s addiction problem in the ass. With an AG like Jeff Sessions and a lunatic in the White House selling cannabis isn’t a gold rush, it is a huge risk .I commend the people at Ash and Paige for stepping up bringing this service to the Eastern Shore. I know they are going to help a lot of people and our community.
Rachel C Goss says
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF_vVrnqBzo
Marijuana X – Documentary film showing the dramatic difference in the drug marijuana throughout the legalization movement.
From:
StayInYourLaneMedia
Published on Mar 18, 2016
“It’s just not marijuana anymore! Weed is being commercialized. It is being genetically modified and chemically altered on a commercial basis. The very nature of these changes should infuriate the very naturalist legalizers that have led the legalize movement. Butane Hash Oil, edibles and concentrates are all products that contradict the natural argument. The “It’s just Weed” slogan no longer applies. THIS is not your Grandfather’s Pot!:
Rani Gutting says
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF_vVrnqBzo