Maryland Cannabis Advertising Laws

Maryland requires no warning statement in advertising. It requires at least 85 percent of the audience to be reasonably expected to be at least 21 on reliable and current audience composition data, prohibits advertising on the side of a building or any other publicly visible location, and requires a neutral age-screening mechanism that takes a date of birth before a visitor may view any website content. Fines escalate to $50,000.

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Legal for licensed cannabis businesses. Subtitle 9 contains no pre-approval requirement. The constraints are the 85 percent audience floor at §36-903(a)(1)(iv), the publicly visible advertising prohibition at §36-903(a)(1)(v), the website age gate at §36-903(b)(1), the content prohibitions at §36-903(a)(1), the claims provision at §36-902, and the fine structure at §36-903(c).

Maryland legalised adult-use cannabis by voter referendum in November 2022, implemented through the Cannabis Reform Act in 2023. The regulator is the Maryland Cannabis Administration, which replaced the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission.

Advertising sits in statute rather than regulation. The operative provisions are Title 36, Subtitle 9 of the Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article: §36-901 supplies the definition, §36-902 governs medical and therapeutic claims, and §36-903 contains the prohibitions, the audience threshold, the website and social media duties, and the penalty structure. COMAR 14.17.14.06 requires compliance with the statute and sets out the fines and licence consequences.

Medical and adult-use cannabis share one advertising rule set. Title 36, Subtitle 9 applies to all licensed and registered cannabis businesses without separating the two.

The MCA states that it does not write the statutes controlling cannabis advertising. The definition of advertisement at §36-901(a) covers event sponsorship, tabling an event, sponsored social media posts, email blasts, direct mail campaigns, radio, TV or internet ads, promotional items, and branded merchandise.

This page is part of our state-by-state cannabis advertising laws library, covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Business name and licence number

Not required. Subtitle 9 contains no requirement to identify the licensee by licence number in advertising.

The required warning statements

None. Maryland mandates no warning language in advertising. This is an absence in the statute rather than an omission from this page.

One disclosure applies, on one channel. Under §36-903(b)(2), any advertisement on social media must include a notification that an individual must be at least 21 years old to view the content.

How the warnings have to appear

Not applicable, as none are required. Subtitle 9 prescribes no font, size, colour or percentage of the advertising area.

When the warnings are not required

Not applicable. Subtitle 9 restricts where an advertisement may appear and who may see it.

Hotline number

No. Maryland requires no helpline, hotline or poison control number.

Prohibited content

Under §36-903(a)(1), a cannabis licensee, product, or service may not:

• Make false or misleading claims
• Directly or indirectly target individuals under the age of 21
• Contain a design, illustration, picture, or representation that targets or is attractive to minors, including a cartoon character, mascot, or any other depiction commonly used to market products to minors
• Contain a design, illustration, picture, or representation that displays the use of cannabis, meaning smoking, vaping, or consuming
• Encourage or promote cannabis for use as an intoxicant
• Be obscene

Medical and therapeutic claims

Under §36-902, a cannabis advertisement may not include any medical or therapeutic claim unless it is supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence, which the MCA illustrates as two or more blinded, well-controlled clinical trials, and includes information on the most serious and significant side effects or risks associated with the use of cannabis. Both limbs apply. The MCA issued further guidance in a Medical and Therapeutic Claims bulletin dated December 15, 2025.

Third-party advertising and anti-avoidance

Under §36-903(b)(3), licensees may not avoid these requirements by employing third parties or otherwise outsourcing advertising, and licensees will be held responsible for third parties that use their trademarks, brands, names, locations, or other distinguishing characteristics for non-compliant advertisements.

Branded merchandise

Branded merchandise is within the definition of advertising at §36-901(a). It may be given or sold to individuals 21 or older, at the licensed premises or at an event sponsored by the licensee that otherwise complies with the advertising restrictions. It may not target individuals under 21, display the use of cannabis, encourage cannabis as an intoxicant, or be obscene, and the cartoon and mascot prohibitions apply to it. See the MCA's Branded Merchandise bulletin of December 15, 2025.

Discounts, coupons, and price promotion

Subtitle 9 contains no price advertising or discount prohibition. Discounting and price promotion are subject to the content prohibitions at §36-903(a)(1) and to the 85 percent audience threshold where the advertisement is placed in one of the named media.

Pre-approval

Not required. Subtitle 9 contains no pre-submission requirement. The MCA operates an optional Audience Data Submission Form, which lets a licensee submit audience composition data before placement and receive an indication whether the data is sufficient under §36-903(a)(1)(iv). The MCA states that sufficient audience composition does not mean the advertisement is otherwise approved, and that use of the tool is not an advisory opinion or guidance.

Penalties

Under §36-903(c) and COMAR 14.17.14.06, fines run $1,000 for a first violation, $10,000 for a second occurring within 24 months of the first, $25,000 for a third within 24 months of the second, and $50,000 for each subsequent violation within 24 months of the preceding one. The MCA may also deny, suspend, or revoke a licence or registration. Violations occurring during the period described in COMAR 14.17.14.06C count toward the escalation.

What the Law Requires

Twenty-one throughout. Under §36-903(a)(1), advertising may not directly or indirectly target individuals under 21, and may not contain a design, illustration, picture, or representation that targets or is attractive to minors, including a cartoon character, mascot, or any other depiction commonly used to market products to minors.

The statute uses both formulations: individuals under the age of 21 for targeting, and minors for the imagery test.

Audience Percentage Thresholds

85 percent, as a floor on the adult share

Under §36-903(a)(1)(iv), a cannabis advertisement may not be placed on television, radio, internet, mobile application, social media, or other electronic communication, event sponsorship, or print publication unless at least 85 percent of the audience is reasonably expected to be at least 21 years old, as determined by reliable and current audience composition data.

Event sponsorship

Event sponsorship is one of the named media at §36-903(a)(1)(iv). A cannabis business may sponsor, table at, or otherwise participate in an event if it demonstrates to the MCA that at least 85 percent of attendees are reasonably expected to be 21 or older; if any signage, displays, or other materials showing information about the business are not visible to anyone not in attendance; and if any promotion, flyer, or other advertisement of the event itself also complies with the advertising and audience restrictions.

The MCA lists what demonstration may consist of: ticket sales, evidence that the event will be age-restricted, surveys of previous attendees, and attestations from the event holder and the licensee presenting facts within the personal knowledge of the signer.

The data tool

The MCA operates an Audience Data Submission Form allowing a licensee to submit composition data before placing an advertisement. Use is optional, and the MCA may require a licensee to submit data for any advertisement. The MCA states that sufficient audience composition does not mean the advertisement is otherwise approved, and that use of the tool is not an advisory opinion or any other form of guidance.

Where the burden sits

On the licensee. Section 36-903(a)(1)(iv) conditions placement on the audience expectation, and §36-903(b)(3) provides that licensees may not avoid the requirements by employing third parties or outsourcing advertising.

Age Gating and Consent

Websites

Under §36-903(b)(1), a neutral age-screening mechanism verifying the user is at least 21, before any content is accessed or viewed and before any personal information is collected. The MCA states that the mechanism must require entry of a date of birth, and that a yes-or-no prompt does not satisfy the requirement. An alternative screening mechanism is required where a site is appropriate for a qualifying patient under 21.

Social media

Under §36-903(b)(2), any advertisement must include a notification that an individual must be at least 21 years old to view the content.

Direct mail

Under §36-903(a)(1)(ii), direct mail may be sent to homes only if addressed to individuals 21 years of age or older, in a sealed envelope, and any advertisement, promotion, or other branding is not visible from the outside of the envelope.

Location-based devices

Subtitle 9 contains no location-based device provision.

Established customers

Subtitle 9 contains no exception removing communications to existing customers or opted-in recipients from the definition of advertising.

People Depicted in Ads

Under §36-903(a)(1), no design, illustration, picture, or representation that targets or is attractive to minors, including a cartoon character, mascot, or any other depiction commonly used to market products to minors. No representation that displays the use of cannabis, meaning smoking, vaping, or consuming.

Subtitle 9 sets no minimum age for persons appearing in advertising and states no restriction on celebrity depiction.

Restricted Locations and Buffer Distances

Subtitle 9 states no advertising buffer. There is no distance requirement around schools, childcare facilities, playgrounds, parks, libraries, recreation centres, places of worship or treatment facilities. This is an absence in the statute rather than an omission from this page.

What the statute uses instead

The publicly visible advertising prohibition at §36-903(a)(1)(v), which operates wherever the advertisement sits rather than by reference to what is nearby.

Event visibility

At a sponsored event, any signage, displays, or other materials displaying information about the cannabis business must not be visible to any individual not in attendance. This is a sightline condition rather than a distance one.

Can You Run a Digital Out of Home Screen in Maryland?

Section 36-903(a)(1)(v) prohibits an advertisement placed on the side of a building or any other publicly visible location, and names a graphic display among the prohibited forms. The MCA gives a window facing the street as an example. The only exterior surface available is signage on the premises identifying the business under §36-903(a)(2).

Compliant Use of Geotargeting

• Subtitle 9 states no advertising buffer, so there is no facility exclusion layer required by Maryland law.
• The operative test for any physical placement is public visibility under §36-903(a)(1)(v), not proximity.
• For television, radio, internet, mobile applications, social media, event sponsorship and print, obtain and retain the reliable and current audience composition data supporting the 85 percent expectation, since the MCA may require it for any advertisement.
• Plan for delivery into the District of Columbia and Virginia in the Washington and Baltimore corridors, each of which applies its own advertising rules.
• For sponsored events, model the sightlines from outside the venue, since materials must not be visible to anyone not in attendance.
• Confirm the website gate takes a date of birth rather than a yes-or-no prompt, and that it precedes all content and all contact data collection.

One advertising rule set. Maryland runs both programmes under the Maryland Cannabis Administration, and Title 36, Subtitle 9 applies to all licensed and registered cannabis businesses and to cannabis-related advertising generally.

The medical programme appears in the advertising rules in one place: the website age gate at §36-903(b)(1) requires an alternative screening mechanism where a website is appropriate for a qualifying patient under the age of 21.

Product access differs between the two populations. Dispensaries may sell concentrated cannabis products over 1 gram total product weight, and edibles, capsules and tinctures containing more than 10 milligrams of THC per serving or 100 milligrams per package, only to qualifying patients and registered caregivers. Adult consumers are limited to lower-potency equivalents.

Certifying providers are separately regulated. An advertisement by a certifying provider must comply with the provider's own professional advertising rules, and advertising may not make claims about a provider's ability to certify a patient.

Who regulates hemp here

Maryland brought intoxicating hemp-derived products inside the licensed cannabis channel rather than running a parallel hemp retail market, so the analysis follows THC content rather than source plant.

Non-intoxicating hemp and CBD

A hemp-derived product at or below 0.5 milligrams of THC per serving and 2.5 milligrams per package sits outside the licensed cannabis channel and outside Subtitle 9, because it is not advertised by a cannabis licensee. General Maryland consumer protection law and federal restrictions on health claims apply instead.

Intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids

Hemp-derived products containing more than 0.5 milligrams of THC per serving or 2.5 milligrams per package may only be sold by licensed dispensaries, and only if manufactured, processed and tested in accordance with MCA regulations. THC for this purpose includes any THC isomers or derivatives, including delta-8 and delta-10. These products may only be displayed or offered for sale in the service area of a dispensary. The federal definition of hemp narrows in November 2026.

What it means for advertising

A product above the per-serving or per-package thresholds is sold by a licensed dispensary, so advertising it is advertising by a cannabis licensee and Subtitle 9 applies in full: the 85 percent threshold, the publicly visible advertising prohibition, the date-of-birth age gate, the content prohibitions and the fine structure. Classify every product against the per-serving and per-package figures, counting isomers, before building a media plan.

Every statement on this page traces to one of the following:

• Md. Code Ann., Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article, Title 36, Subtitle 9, Advertising, §§36-901 to 36-903
• Maryland Cannabis Administration, Advertising Restrictions, Version 6, updated November 21, 2025
• COMAR 14.17.14.06, Advertising, setting out the fine structure and licence consequences
• Maryland Cannabis Administration, Advertising page
• Maryland Cannabis Administration, Dispensary Guidance, including the hemp-derived product thresholds and product access differences
• MCA bulletins: Age Verification Requirements for Websites and Social Media, August 11, 2025; Medical and Therapeutic Claims, December 15, 2025; Branded Merchandise, December 15, 2025

Senate Bill 594 (SB 594) in the 2026 session proposed amendments to §§36-901 and 36-903. Check the current statutory text and the MCA's Laws and Regulations page before relying on this summary for a new campaign.