The Maryland Cannabis Administration is planning to create a state-run incubator program inside the Catonsville armory to help foster growth for small cannabis companies.

Funding for the $7 million renovation of the 29,000-square-foot armory building on Mellor Avenue in Catonsville is included in the state’s fiscal 2025 and 2026 budgets.

The incubator space is being developed in partnership with the Maryland Economic Development Corporation. It would be the country’s first state-run cannabis incubator program “exclusively for social equity licenses and micro-businesses” and could support up to 110 cannabis microprocessors and dispensaries, according to the Maryland Cannabis Administration’s budget testimony.

Microdispensaries, or cannabis businesses that sell and deliver products without having a physical storefront, could use the incubator space as secure storage, the cannabis agency said. Microprocessors could use a shared commercial kitchen and other equipment to process cannabis into different products, such as vapes or edibles.

The state issued 40 micro-licenses for these types of businesses in its most recent social equity licensing lottery last year.

Under the cannabis reform law passed by the General Assembly in 2023, which created the state’s adult-use cannabis industry framework, the Maryland Economic Development Corporation was required to acquire and construct or refurbish at least one facility to house an incubator space.

Though the armory was not one of 37 sites identified for a possible cannabis incubator in the economic development corporation’s December 2023 report, it was selected because of its central location and its reinforced vault, according to a state budget analysis.

Construction is planned to begin this July and finish in July 2026, according to budget documents.

When construction is complete, the Department of General Services will contract with a nonprofit that has yet to be identified to operate the incubator space.

Have a news tip? Contact Natalie Jones at najones@baltsun.com.