Gov. Wes Moore changed his mind.
The governor on Wednesday said that Catonsville armory will no longer be the site of the state’s first cannabis incubator after some complaints and confusion by community members.
“Upon further review of this project … I have concluded that the state should explore new options for its location,” Moore said in a statement about the program, which is designed to promote Black-and-brown-owned marijuana businesses.
The decision comes one week after The Baltimore Banner published an article where some Catonsville residents said they were frustrated the armory was chosen without community consultation because the site sits directly across from Catonsville Elementary School and a local day care.
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Josh Jackson, a father-of-two who started a petition on Change.org to demand officials reconsider using the Catonsville armory, praised the move.
“Wow, that’s fantastic,” he said. “I’m glad (Moore’s) kind of speaking from the top and taking leadership of the whole issue, which is what we were looking for.
“It gives you a little bit of hope,” Jackson added.
The Maryland Economic Development Corporation submitted a report to Moore and the state legislature in December 2023 identifying 37 sites across the state to be considered for the project. The Catonsville armory was not among them.
Still, the General Assembly voted to commit $7 million out of the 2025 and 2026 state budgets to fund the program at the Baltimore County location.
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The governor’s deputy chief of staff Manny Welsh previously told The Banner the Catonsville site was moving forward and that Moore and the state legislature were “aligned.”
The incubator project will house up to 110 cannabis micro-businesses that store or process marijuana into products like vapes or edibles.
Moore said that MEDCO, the Maryland Cannabis Administration and the Maryland Department of General Services will start this new selection process immediately and consult all community members involved.
“I have instructed the agencies to identify locations that are not within close proximity to residential communities and schools,” Moore said.
The state’s general services department will retain control of the Catonsville armory, the governor said, and move to properly demilitarize, salvage and either transfer, donate or sell the site to the public.
