There is a unique volunteer opportunity at the Y of Catonsville! Please see the attached flyer.
*DISCLAIMER: This is not a UMBC Community Engagement Network Event.*
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By Bart Schaneman
Maryland’s medical marijuana program, which has been plagued with delays since its inception in 2013, seems to be finally gaining momentum.
In a positive sign to industry watchers, the state’s Medical Cannabis Commission on Monday approved three more cultivation license holders to begin growing and licensed two processors and one testing lab.
“This is a significant step,” Debby Miran, a former Maryland MMJ commissioner and now a cannabis consultant in Baltimore, told Marijuana Business Daily. “Without getting past this step, heretofore we had one grower and no processors.”
Maryland’s medical marijuana law was first approved in 2013 and revised into a more feasible setup in 2014, but the program’s rollout has been delayed for various reasons.
However, the state has made inroads recently, including Monday’s approvals.
Maryland now has 13 approved cultivators after the commission approved:
The state’s MMJ program allows for three more cultivators, pending approval. Two of the candidates – Kind Therapeutics (Washington County) and Doctors Orders (Dorchester County) – have filed for extensions to explain why they missed a deadline to have their grow sites up and running.
The final cultivator applicant, MaryMed, was denied a license because two executives from its former parent company, Minnesota-based Vireo Health, allegedly smuggled cannabis oil across state lines. MaryMed has filed an appeal.
Processor licenses approved Monday are Pro Green Medical (Frederick County) and Chesapeake Alternatives (Queen Anne’s County). The one laboratory license approval went to Advent Labs (Baltimore County).
According to The Washington Post, eight processors that missed a deadline will be given additional time to complete their licensing requirements.
Market ready to soar
Miran highlighted the potential for missed opportunity in Maryland’s burgeoning MMJ market.
“Now that we’ve got these growers and nearly all of the processors,” she added, “the ball is in their court to move quickly and according to regulations and get products on dispensary shelves.”
The state allows for 102 licensed dispensaries, but only one, Wellness Institute of Maryland, has opened, and sales aren’t expected to beginuntil after Labor Day at the earliest.
So far, 424 physicians have signed up to recommend medical marijuana to roughly 12,000 registered patients.
The diversity issue
Maryland’s MMJ legislation called for the inclusion of minorities in the state’s industry, but no African-American cultivation companies have been granted a license.
Earlier this August, lawmakers said they would support “emergency legislation” to potentially expand the diversity of the MMJ industry when they reconvene for their annual legislative session in early 2018.
A pending lawsuit filed against the commission contends the commission ignored a requirement that racial diversity be a consideration in who received MMJ cultivation permits.
Ivan Lanier, a Maryland-based cannabis consultant, said it seems the commission is pushing the diversity issue to ensure growers are submitting the proper paperwork regarding the amount of business each license holder is doing with minority-owned companies.
“That’s going to be a major push from this new commission,” he said, referencing Gov. Larry Hogan’s recent overhaul of the panel.
Cultivators must submit annual reports that meet a certain annual goal – calculated by the region the business is in – of goods and services purchased from Maryland’s certified disadvantaged businesses.
The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland promotes that requirement as a good way to involve more minority businesses.
There was discussion Monday whether the requirement of an annual diversity report should include dispensary and processor license holders as well, Lanier said.
Hogan has also moved forward with a study on how the state could include more minority ownership in the industry.
Looking ahead
Also on Monday, the commission took public comment on whether to add 15 more processor licenses to increase the total to 30, but no decision was made.
Miran said she was surprised a second testing lab wasn’t certified and expects the state to add up to six total labs to help avoid a potential bottleneck.
Bringing more labs online might be a necessity, since Maryland eventually will have up to 102 dispensaries.
“Access for patients shouldn’t be an issue,” Miran said. “I don’t think anyone’s going to be more than 3o minutes away from (a dispensary.)
Licensed dispensaries have until Dec. 14, 2017, to open for business.
“I think the program is absolutely moving forward,” Lanier said. “The new commission is going to put some fresh eyes on all that has happened in the past.”
The key, Lanier added, is whether the commission will open up applications for additional growing and processing licenses.
“Certainly there’s room for improvement, and everyone in Maryland is working toward that,” he said. “We’re finally on the right track.”
Bart Schaneman can be reached at barts@mjbizdaily.com
The DoIT Technology Support Center is looking to hire additional consultants to work during the Fall. Please see our job description below and visit our job posting on UMBCWorks to apply. The position will be open for applications until September 8th. (Search for TSC Student Consultant.)
Technology Support Center (TSC) student consultants are the first points of technical contact for the UMBC community and those who do well often go on to work in other areas of the Division of Information Technology (DoIT). Minimally, consultants are expected to provide initial triage and support for a wide-range of information technologies including accounts, hardware, instructional technologies, networking, software, telecommunications, and basic web development.
The University of Florida’s Graduate School cordially invites prospective graduate students to apply for our Fall 2017 Campus Visitation Program (CVP) which will be held November 2-3, 2017.
During their trip to the campus, successful underrepresented minority applicants will have the opportunity to:
The University of Florida will provide lodging for two nights, most meals, and up to $500 in airfare or mileage. We will also reimburse the UF Graduate School Application fee, if accepted into the Campus Visitation Program.
To be eligible to participate in the Campus Visitation Program, applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:
AND
AND
For more information and to complete an online application, please visit our website: CVP 2017. While we are aware that the deadline to apply is this Friday, September 1st – there is a strongly possibility that it will be extended for a couple of more weeks.
]]>Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV) - “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God.”
“The upshot is a prayer report in which Paul prays in part for the continuation of the very things for which he has just given thanks. Which should surprise us none, since both reports reflect the same basic theological framework - present existence in Christ as both “already” and “not yet.” This is where the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ join: Paul’s prayer for them is that they might live the life of the future in the present, so that they might thereby be blameless at its consummation on the day of Christ. The concern is with present life in Christ; the orientation is toward its consummation - that they live for Christ now, and do so in light of his coming Day” (Gordon Fee, Philippians, NICNT).
Prayer: Maranatha, Jesus!
-JK
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In 2012, following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Baltimore artist David Hess felt compelled to accelerate the construction of an unusual series of sculptures: life-size mock assault rifles fashioned from everyday ordinary objects.
“This body of work is my personal awakening to the American obsession with weapons and the abstraction of violence,” says Hess. Taking discarded bits of things (“rescued” objects, he calls them) that most people would consider trash — a vacuum cleaner, the handle of a saw, an old black sneaker, a pink Barbie bike frame, a raggedy crutch, the body of an electric guitar, a turquoise sewing machine — Hess fashioned strikingly realistic-looking “guns” for exhibition, to prompt conversations about violence in America.
Hess’ work came to the attention of Kathy O’Dell, special assistant to the dean for education and arts partnerships, and associate professor of visual arts, art history and museum studies, who has organized an exhibition, simply titled Gun Show, of all 112 of Hess’ gun sculptures at UMBC’s Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, opening on September 4 and continuing through October 14. An opening reception with the artist will be held on Thursday, September 7, from 5 to 7 p.m.
The exhibition displays the sculpture on the floor, laid out on tarpaulins, recalling the presentation of bodies awaiting identification following disasters, or the arrangement of confiscated weapons at police headquarters. Ranging in weight from 8 to 44 pounds, the mock guns include no shooting mechanism.
“The reason I felt strongly about convincing David Hess to hold this exhibition at UMBC is that it’s a research institution,” says O’Dell, “and research is what has driven David’s entire project, starting in the early 1990s through the present: What is a gun? What does it mean to hold one? What does it mean to make one? Who does or does not own them? Who should or should not own them? What are sensible reasons and safe ways to use them? What are the ramifications of their use or misuse? How do issues of race, class, gender identity, and age impact these questions?”
O’Dell continues, “Research is about asking questions and then attempting to answer them — as individuals and as groups working together to make sense of the world and to advance thinking.”
O’Dell notes that the power in Hess’ use of “rescued” objects is their familiarity. “Every object fits into a story with which each viewer can relate,” she says. “Yet each story is personal. A Barbie bike seat will have a different meaning to me than it will for a young man whose sister had a bike like that. Contemplating a personal story leads to contemplating one’s personal position on what the bike seat has been made to represent — a gun. The ‘rescued’ objects allow us to ‘rescue’ memories and, on the basis of memories, build thoughts and positions in the here and now.”
David Hess’ work has been exhibited at Goya Contemporary in Baltimore and the John Elder Gallery in New York. His work can be found in numerous private and public collections, including the American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) Thurgood Marshall Airport, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Sinai Hospital, Montgomery College, Kaiser Permanente, and the Emerson Corporation in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition, he has completed over twenty public art commissions in and around Baltimore, Rockville, and Germantown, and Washington, D.C.
Kathy O’Dell, curator of Gun Show, teaches and writes on modern and contemporary art, with a focus on performance and global art. The author of Contract with the Skin: Masochism, Performance Art, and the 1970s (University of Minnesota Press, 1998), she has published numerous articles and reviews in Art in America, Artforum, Performance Research, TDR: The Drama Review, Women & Performance, and other journals. Currently, she is writing a book titled The Dot: A Small History of a Big Point and is co-writing, with Duke University Professor Kristine Stiles, a survey text titled World Art Since 1933. She serves on the Board of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance and the Maryland State Commission on Public Art.
Read more about Gun Show on UMBC’s Arts and Culture Calendar.
All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC except detail of sculpture courtesy of Geoff Graham.
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Katharine H. Cole has joined UMBC as vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs (UAA). Cole’s tenure began on August 14, 2017, just ahead of the university’s fall 2017 semester.
“I am truly honored to have the opportunity to join UMBC’s community of outstanding students, innovative and dedicated faculty and staff, and visionary and talented leadership,” says Cole. “UMBC’s comprehensive vision of education, inclusive culture, and uncompromising dedication to student success make working here an exciting and inspiring place to be.”
Cole joins UMBC from the University of Tampa, where she served as associate provost and dean of academic services for five years. Prior to that, she served as associate dean of undergraduate studies at the University of South Florida (2010 – 2012).
Cole also held faculty positions at the University of Maryland, Baltimore; University of South Florida; and University of Tampa, and, early in her career, was a postdoctoral fellow and a clinical research scientist for the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health. She holds a B.A. in biological sciences from the University of Delaware, M.A. in zoology from the University of Northern Colorado, and Ph.D. in pathology from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
To her new role at UMBC, Cole brings extensive experience in research, teaching, and academic administration, as well as an outstanding record of leadership in academic affairs and community engagement. She is deeply committed to ensuring effective participation in shared governance by university staff, faculty, and students. Additionally, she has been recognized for significant contributions to the advancement of student success, advising, and academic standards and integrity.
As vice provost and dean, Cole will lead the Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs in offering programs that deliver a distinctive UMBC undergraduate experience. She will guide and review curricula, programs, and academic policy, and foster collaborative relationships with both colleagues across campus and external partners, with the goal of supporting the success of all students. Units and programs within the UAA include the Office of Undergraduate Education, Honors College, Interdisciplinary Studies Program, Women’s Center, Learning Resources Center, Meyerhoff Scholars Program, and Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars Program.
CAHSS Dean Scott Casper chaired the vice provost and dean of UAA search committee. He and Provost Philip Rous particularly recognize the essential contributions of Simon Stacey, director of UMBC’s Honors College, who served as interim dean throughout the process, offering steady guidance and leadership.
Now on campus, with the start of the semester just on the horizon, Cole says she is excited to get underway in her new role at UMBC. She shares, “I look forward to working with the dynamic and creative campus community to advance and support the innovative teaching, research, and civic engagement opportunities we offer for our students.”
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