Ocean City officials seek to ban marijuana lounges ahead of statewide legalization

OCEAN CITY, Md. - Ocean City is one of the most popular vacation spots in the DMV and officials there are making an early move to pause part of the implementation of Maryland’s recreational marijuana law.

The city council is set to enact a ban on marijuana lounges. The council unanimously approved a first vote and will need to take a second.

Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan expects the ordinance to pass.

Last fall, Maryland voters overwhelmingly said they wanted marijuana legalization. In May, the laws dictating what legalization looks like were passed.

Beginning July 1, citizens can possess small amounts of marijuana and consume it but the law still prohibits public consumption.

A partial exception to that is marijuana lounges, where people can go and consume marijuana at a business but outdoors.

C.T. Wilson is the chair of the House Economic Matters Committee who helped write the legislation. He says the law is meant to facilitate the business of marijuana in Maryland and ensure access to the market but lawmakers did want to give local jurisdictions some flexibility to disallow lounges, which Ocean City is poised to do.

Mayor Meehan said the top priority for the council is to protect Ocean City’s reputation as family-friendly, emphasizing that smoking tobacco is largely prohibited in public spaces.

Meehan also says there are so many unknowns with legalization right now: What it looks like, how it’s enforced, that the council just wants to take it slow where it can.

Meehan also said this helps eliminate any confusion on the part of visitors who may come from a jurisdiction where marijuana isn’t legal.