---
title: Creating the ‘Maryland Model’ for Cannabis Regulation
date: 2024-11-20T05:30:00-05:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/creating-the-maryland-model-for-cannabis-regulation"
section: Articles
---
# Creating the ‘Maryland Model’ for Cannabis Regulation

*November 20, 2024* — by [Karen Shih ’09](/author/karen-shih)


> Alum Who Leads State Agency Navigated New Terrain on Medical, Recreational Legalization, Licensing

*Getty Images 1571077317 1920x1080 — Cannabis products for sale at a Silver Spring dispensary on July 1, 2023, the first day recreational, adult-use marijuana became legal in Maryland. UMD alum Will Tilburg M.P.H. ’17 has steered the state through an evolving world of medical and recreational cannabis regulations for the last six years.*

Running a state agency isn’t easy, but it gets a lot more difficult when its role is to regulate a substance that’s sometimes used as medicine and sometimes a recreational drug—and that’s illegal at the federal level.

Despite the complexities, it’s been a welcome challenge for Will Tilburg M.P.H. ’17, who’s stepping down Dec. 4 as the inaugural director of the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA). For the last six years, he’s guided the state through building a medical marijuana program, then developed regulations for a recreational, adult-use market that brought in more than $1.1 billion in its first year.


*Will Tilburg headshot — Will Tilburg*




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**Units:** [School of Public Health](https://today.umd.edu/topic/school-public-health)