Who won Maryland’s social equity cannabis lottery? Over 200 new licensees starting businesses.

A cohort of new cannabis licensees in Maryland are facing their first hurdles and finding their identities as they set out on an 18-month venture to get their business up and running. The 205 prospective businesses were selected at random earlier this year through the state’s social equity lottery for cannabis licenses. Many of the people behind them are entering the legal pot industry from other careers — some are lawyers, some are educators, others are engineers and electricians.