Another medical marijuana dispensary will be opening soon in Harford County, making four approved or awaiting state approval in Harford.
The RISE Abingdon dispensary would be the second slated for legislative District 34, which is entirely contained within Harford’s borders. The former Saxon’s Diamond Centers store in the 200 block of South Philadelphia Boulevard in Aberdeen is being redeveloped for the True Wellness dispensary.
State law allows for two dispensaries in each of Maryland’s 47 senatorial districts. Three districts, including District 7, District 34 and District 35 cover portions of Harford County. District 7 straddles Baltimore and Harford counties, and District 35 serves north-central Harford and western Cecil County.
The newest RISE dispensary is planned for what was formerly a bank branch at 3111 Emmorton Road, along Route 924 south of Singer Road.
Renovation work is underway, and the facility is expected to open this summer, according to a representative of the RISE parent company, Green Thumb Industries, or GTI.
“We are in the process of getting the [dispensary] license for Abingdon,” Linda Marsicano, vice president of corporate communications for GTI, wrote in an email Monday.
The dispensary must pass a state inspection, and receive final approval from the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission before a license is issued, according to Marsicano.
Green Thumb Industries, based in Illinois, operates dispensaries throughout Maryland and in other states, plus it cultivates and processes medical cannabis; GTI’s RISE Joppa dispensary, which is in a former liquor store off of Pulaski Highway, opened in late April.
That location is within District 7, which Harford County shares with eastern Baltimore County.
“We look forward to further serving the patients in Harford County,” Marsicano stated. “RISE Joppa is doing great, and it’s a pleasure for us to be a part of the community.”
The True Wellness dispensary, also in District 34, is expected to open this month.
The fourth dispensary is planned off of Route 1 in the Street area, within District 35 that northern Harford shares with western Cecil County.
The district’s first dispensary, Nature’s Care & Wellness, opened in Perryville early this year.
