Catching up with Glassman on Annapolis and cannabis legislation

With the Maryland Crab Cake Tour returning to Harford County and the new Pappas Restaurant, we asked former County Executive Barry Glassman to educate us on the new rules for recreational cannabis in Maryland and a primer for all things Annapolis and sine die after an active session in Annapolis.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

annapolis, running, harford county, bill, folks, lobbying, people, maryland, state, years, gave, recreational cannabis, communities, recreational, cannabis, senate, pickleball, lottery, day, framework

SPEAKERS

Barry Glassman, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:00

What about W? M, st Towson, Baltimore and Baltimore positive we’re positively back in Bel Air in Harford County. Having some fun. We’re at the we’re eating better in the neighborhood. This used to be an Applebee’s. It’s now if it happens, we’re in the Greenbrier shopping center here, man. They’re giving me Saigon, Chesapeake feline Association shirts. People are dropping stuff off. People coming by taking books, taking lottery tickets from the Maryland lottery. I’m doing all sorts of things all brought to you by our friends at the Maryland lottery conjunction with window nation. 866 90. Nation, you buy two, you get two free five years 0% financing. This guy has been an attractor all day long. He’s got new windows or not. He used to sort of run the county a little bit. And then he sort of went out and I haven’t I haven’t had you once you were campaigning last year for comptroller since about August. Oh, man, we’re friends on Facebook. We’re friends on Facebook. So I see what you’re doing or whatever. You’re not my favorite Republican because that’s Michael Steele. I already gave that to him. So I gotta make you my second favorite Republican. But you’ve been down in Annapolis. And I didn’t realize you were lobbying doing what you’re doing. I didn’t really know what you’re doing. And I wanted to have you on to see what you were doing. And then it’s the Facebook thing, you start to talk about, you say Barry Glassman, then you start showing up. And then I saw like you were in Annapolis, and I thought, well, you’re going to be a great guy to come here and tell me what’s going on in Annapolis the last 90 days, because you’re back in the old stomping grounds that I

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Barry Glassman  01:22

am, you know, I spent. So I finished up in December. And I took took about December off and and then of course, the legislative session, I kept thinking, you know, what are you going to do i i served 30 years in public service and and I love government working in Are you prepared? Well, you know, I knew it was a tough race. And you know, since when the primary and when when the top of the ticket was what it was, yeah, you know, all indication or polling showed that, you know, one Republican might have a chance, but it was a long shot. But we we had a great campaign I enjoy. Listen, I’ve got so many friends, Democratic Republican, I enjoyed traveling the state and you know, I kept my I didn’t support the ticket, did my own thing. And so I kept my brand really solid and and, and that’s what I wanted to do is because I had a long legacy of service, I want to make sure if I go out, I go out with my head up and sleep well, I would say absolutely. My blood pressure has been 10 points lower. And the only bad thing is I ran 25 years. Never had an injury. I started playing pickleball and rip my calf muscle like the first month.

Nestor Aparicio  02:38

Oh no,

Barry Glassman  02:39

I’ve been in recovery mode. See, I’ve

Nestor Aparicio  02:40

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been I talked to the folks on the in line here about the barre and dancing and I had my dear friend Gigi on doing Zumba last week. I’m a hot yoga guy. I’m in the best shape I’ve been in my back’s Finally, my back’s been a mess. So I’m feeling better. And I’m feeling like, I don’t feel like tennis or golf. Anything that’s gonna involve, like, torqueing me I don’t want to I don’t want to mess with dancing, maybe a little bit not running. But like, you know, for you. You’re all you’re a fitness guy. I mean, last time I saw you running the marathon.

Barry Glassman  03:10

So I’m still doing the running. I never had an injury. But I think this pickleball the stopping and starting and the more I read is like, you know, I’m 61 so folks in my age range are getting injured right and left. So what I played 10 How did he get injured pickleball table tennis table tennis and college and never got injured. But so I’m going to stretch I think the stretching thing maybe it i

Nestor Aparicio  03:34

when you stretch when you run? Yeah, so you can’t run with your calf right now. Um,

Barry Glassman  03:38

um, um, six weeks out, I did the dry needling and all the rehab. And so I did run last week with no pain. So I’m gonna, I got a couple races coming up. the Brigantes run is coming up. All right, 5.7. I like that’s a tough one down at the Baltimore Zoo. It’s got a lot of hills. But so I’m going to do that. And then I’m going to ease back into pickleball a little bit because I I did

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Nestor Aparicio  04:02

catch the bug. You’re not gonna let it beat you because what you’re telling them right, I

Barry Glassman  04:06

caught the bug. I really enjoyed it. All right. Well, Barry

Nestor Aparicio  04:09

Glassman is here. So you were running. I want to get back to your campaign a little bit. And you running for state office. I don’t want to say losing, but I’m sure you met people and make connections in ways that you aspire to do that. And you were sort of put forward to do that for the party. I would think at that point. What What was the experience like for you? Because it was an uphill battle. And you knew that I ran into you five times last summer?

Barry Glassman  04:36

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Yeah, it was a good experience. I mean, you know, I didn’t run didn’t get any help for the party or didn’t really have the blessing of the party. So I would set that straight. I’ve always kind of been my own kind of character so I haven’t really ever had a lot of party support. But being president of Mako I traveled all the counties and I knew people there. You know, I had a lot of Democrats pull For me, they knew it was a tough race. We got endorsed by the Washington Post said some great things about me. And so I think it just it felt good to be recognized that you’re a good candidate. You know, we kept to the issues, we really didn’t get into the any negative stuff. I said, we’re going to be positive. We’re going to talk about the issues. She’s a good person. Yeah. So of course, so we we kind of stayed on brand, and it was a good race. I did better than the other statewide Republicans won some jurisdictions, some Democratic areas. So we felt pretty good. I think, you know, so you wake up in myself, right? Yeah, you

Nestor Aparicio  05:39

wake up and you still running the county for six weeks? And then it’s over? Then you say, All right, what are you going to do? Right, so you gotta farm? You know, I think from the beginning, you said you didn’t need politics. In the beginning, have you had a whole life before any of this?

Barry Glassman  05:50

You know, I retired from BJ and as, you know, I’ve got a pension there and, you know, 30 years with with the state and state and local politics. But you know, even though I’m 60, I’m a young 60 I feel like so I want to work. I’m the kind of guy that’s got to work. And so lobbying always in the back of my mind seemed like a

Nestor Aparicio  06:13

good fit is that because people told me I’d be a good lobbyist, seriously. So

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Barry Glassman  06:16

lobbying, you know, you have to be registered with the state. But really, you begin, you become an advocate for certain clients say recreational cannabis, I have a cannabis client, one of the only Maryland owned independent operated medical cannabis dispensaries that are currently in Cecil County. And so they want to become involved in the recreational piece of that, well, it’s

Nestor Aparicio  06:44

90 days when we all saw this come in, right? So they

Barry Glassman  06:47

they need they want someone that’s on the ground in Annapolis, write testimony, go to the hearings, represent them in the house in the Senate, where I served in both of those bodies. And so you’re kind of their representative on the ground. And they have certain objectives that they want you to try to get accomplished after you see the first draft of the bill there’s always things that you can you can change or amend and make better and so that’s your primary job is really to represent them and represent their interest in the legislative drafting at committee in the political process, and then keep an eye on and keep your fingers crossed when you come into to sign the die. I was texting my clients on sign he die like you know, this is where it’s at. This is what’s what’s going to

Nestor Aparicio  07:41

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happen what he’s waiting on it right. I mean, and I think the populations waiting on it, because look, you’re Harford County farmer. I’m at Dundalk kid I think he would ever be legal or not stigmatized? Or but we’re way past that point at this right

Barry Glassman  07:56

once it once we started the medical. Once we got over that hump, I was in the State Senate when we we finally began to get over that hump. To treat folks and and for the medical purposes of cannabis. Once we got over that, I think it was just a matter of time. This was about 104 page bill and all the people voted for the Yeah, right. It’s so was approved. But you know, the devil is always in the details. But I have to say the house in the Senate, the legislature really did a good job. And this bill was meant to be a framework. You know, it doesn’t address every regulatory question out there yet. It sets up an administration that will administer and regulate prominent, promulgating regulations going forward. So it created a good framework, and I think it is workable for the medical folks, you know, their their main objective is July one was the referendum question. The bill sets that as a goal. So medical dispensaries will be able to dispense recreational cannabis hopefully on on July 1 that’s the that’s the goal. Right that’s soon

Nestor Aparicio  09:15

anybody that’s been to Denver or been been other places DC I mean, Massachusetts other places. It’s It’s part and parcel of it’s happened quickly. But it’s it’s integrated. There hasn’t been a whole lot of fighting about what’s what, what was being fought over what was being discussed. For for the audience. I just don’t know. I mean,

Barry Glassman  09:34

so you know, with medical cannabis, they’re, they’re the initial they’ve already got the investment. They’re up and running huge invest. So they’re the easy guys that can probably, you know, kind of add in add in the recreational piece to their current business. Within the bill. There’s there’s a conversion fee, you know, they, depending on what their gross revenues were last year, they’ll have to pay no less than two 10% as a conversion fee, and that’s the right. That’s basically the bigger they are, the more they pay, right. And that’s basically that’s the state saying, if you want to get in the recreational business, you got to pay up and pay an additional fee. And so that whole part of the bill, there was a lot of negotiations to get that done. Everybody seemed we already paid. Well, you know, it’s always about money, no one wants to pay as much as maybe the state wants to. But I think they they did a graduated fee schedule. One of the things that a lot of the operators that asked for was an installment plan to give us some time to come up with that capital, because a lot of the medical folks had already invested a lot of capital to get up and running three or four

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Nestor Aparicio  10:50

years and percent everything I had last year, I mean, how many people can just reach in their pocket and come up with

Barry Glassman  10:54

the state that the house in the Senate did a good job, they put about an 18 month window, gave credit to the operators for their annual fee. And so I think that’s all workable, I think they it was, you know, just the process of going to the hearings, hearing testimony. And then the other piece of the bill, of course, the social equity piece, the second allotment of licenses for new licensed folks will start next year after January 1. And that that will be a portion by the new administration, the cannabis administration, a lot of that will be based on jurisdictions that have had a history of folks that have been arrested or, you know, the whole war on drugs, the folks that serve marijuana or arrest and so forth. There’s a whole formula to begin to identify those communities that have suffered the most under under that cannabis, law enforcement and judicial process almost targeting Yes, right. So, and even some of the folks that were targeted, will have an ability to participate in Maryland’s recreational program. Not only be be an applicant, or grower or

Nestor Aparicio  12:17

proud of all this is keeping off the street and taxes. Yeah. The at the heart of it. It’s a syntax that we write, you have never thought about for 80 years in this country, right? Literally, it was a street drug, right? I mean, literally, and now we’re trying to make the street part of it go away. Hey, I’m here with the lottery, right? We’re talking about mobile wagering and gambling. And I’m talking about the casino and to a business in Hollywood. Some of the 50th year the lottery at last week, I was at Costas and I said to Mr. Custer, what was it like when they came and said they were going to make the numbers game legal? You’re gonna mean because it was such a street racket, right? I mean, gambling, it’s what it was. Marijuana has been that. And I think from the recreational part, when you’re talking about challenged communities and communities that have been ravaged by this, people are still using cannabis in these communities, right? So how can how can there be fair access to run a legitimate business, right, legitimate, and

Barry Glassman  13:10

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this bill sets the framework up to do that, and pay taxes and, and, and some of the taxes that are paid in, will go to loan funds, and so forth, to begin to create a marketplace where everybody has a chance to participate in it at several different layers, you know, grower processor, small or micro dispensaries. And so it does create that kind of framework. And then they were careful, they put, you know, the house had a graduated tax system that was 567 and went up to 9%. The Senate went ahead and went set it at 9% is what we put on Alcohol Alcohol currently. And so set it there. I think they learned from a lot of other states, that you can’t tax it too much. You have to be careful, you walk a tightrope, you can’t create a black market. You have to produce a market where it’s available for sale and people can go, but you can’t make it too expensive. Because believe me, there are still folks out there that want to do it on the side or do it in the black market. So I think Maryland did a pretty good job at at the revenue distribution, the taxation on behalf. You’re happy. Yeah, I think Yeah. And I think overall, most most folks are happy with the framework because maybe coming a little later than then some of the other states. There’s studies out there and and you can tell the workgroups that worked on the bill over the summer, looked at a lot of the studies were out there were folks had made mistakes, and we dialed back on taxation, the number of licenses, you know how much you’re going to have out there in the marketplace. So they’ve kind of looked at all that so hopefully we’ll be there’s going to be some growing pains. Oh, lot of regulations to be laid out yet, but I think they put together a pretty good framework for that.

Nestor Aparicio  15:05

How’s the new Annapolis? How did that go for 90 days down there?

Barry Glassman  15:08

It was different. You know, I haven’t been in the, in the Senate for eight years now. The Senate still kind of reminded me of the old Senate, there are new members there. But the way it operated a little bit smaller ship change. Yeah, smaller, more judicious, but still, probably the body that kind of takes a closer slower look at things. The house has changed a lot. I’d definitely say it’s been 16 years since I was in the house, a lot more progressive than the house. Let’s face it even. I mean, you can tell the difference in Annapolis miss in the two mics, you know, Mike Bush, Mike Miller, although, you know, down the middle of the road, strong Democrats, they, they were pretty judicious in running both of their bodies, and moved a little bit slower on progressive issues, took a look at taxation. And so I can see the change there a little bit, the way, the way certain bills are moving more quickly through the legislature. But, you know, the legislature has been around for hundreds of years. And one thing for certain that 90 day, dance has not changed a whole lot from when the bills come in to the hearings, and to sign the document get on the way but that all came back to me I could tell. I could tell the you know, the nuance of things, the flow, the flow is still the same. They’re there on the last night, you know, trying to rush through and get some bills done. Make sure they got bills on the table to vote on. And so a lot of that in the budgeting is very similar. So it kind of felt like home to me. I really enjoyed it and so we’ll see how it goes.

Nestor Aparicio  17:00

Barry Glassman is our Gasper Pappas, we’re having crabcakes we have crab cake with Tim and Justin a little later on. We had great great show up here. All the brought to you by the Maryland lottery conjunction with our friends and window nation the 27th We’re gonna be downtown at Captain Larry’s having Maurice crabcake. Then on the 28th back down to fade these to make good for Mr. nanopi the man opening day and the cancel was 80 degrees in the Springsteen concert Eagles concert signing die and we got Bo p j, and we gave him the march aggregate things going on. Yeah. Sorry for counting your business.

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Barry Glassman  17:29

Your your side of the sheet is busy.

Nestor Aparicio  17:33

Oh my god, everything’s busy. Right? Well, it’s Harford County what’s, what’s it like not running it?

Barry Glassman  17:40

It’s, you know, I try swore

Nestor Aparicio  17:43

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it was gonna fall apart when you left.

Barry Glassman  17:45

Well, some folks have called me and said it has. But you know, I’m being a good I think I’m trying to be a good former county executive and, and follow my mom’s old rule. You know, if you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything at all. So I’m not in the paper. I think we’ll see how it goes. I think it’s early yet. But

Nestor Aparicio  18:07

are you done politicking?

Barry Glassman  18:09

Are you not gonna say Never Say Never giving you a hard question.

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Nestor Aparicio  18:12

I just, I mean, yeah,

Barry Glassman  18:14

I would, you know, I’ve learned I’ve seen other politicians say never have to go back on it. So I won’t say never. But I can tell you. I had a good 30 year run. And I’m happy where I’m at. I’ve got a two year old grandson. I’m lobbying in Annapolis still getting to keep my finger in that. And so I’m in a good place right now. So I

Nestor Aparicio  18:36

was like, Where are you on what you’ve done and the controller thing and we’re in your all of these life issues? Like, what would you be sitting here right now even over in privacy saying I really want that job. And I’m thinking, I don’t know, I you know, like it that would be an elected job. Yeah, it would be a job where you’d have to get put signs up. I

Barry Glassman  18:56

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know, that’s where and I have people call me, you know, it’s easy for people to call you and say, oh, you should do this, or you should do that. They’ve never, you know, driven eight hours to Annapolis or had to go to DC suburbs and fight traffic campaign, get back home at 10 o’clock at night. And so I’m in a good spot right now. I don’t think I’ll ever say never. But you know, I don’t see it. But who knows you have to be good that you can win too. And that you can make a difference, you know, exactly. And, you know, I set up my own lobbying shop. I didn’t. I could have went with some big, you know, work for some bigger firms and so forth. But I figure you know, I’ve done a lot on my own. So I just set up my own small firm. Do it myself, and you look happy. Yeah, and I have the Harford County Libraries are one of my clients. They’re a good client, the Harford County Deputy Sheriffs union, and I have a stream restoration company. So what I’m trying to pick some good areas that I’m interested in working with helping folks out,

Nestor Aparicio  19:58

you lobby for the library. Where’s your money for him? Well, the

Barry Glassman  20:02

library’s particularly in Annapolis. And many library systems have now kind of have a lobbyists down there working keeping an eye on the capital budget. They’re always in, you know, our libraries are always in need of additional funding. Most library systems are at the mercy of being funded by the county, they don’t get much from the state, they don’t really have an independent source of revenue. And so we’re down there on labor issues, material issues, capital budget, and so and when they come down there, they like to have somebody that can walk them around and take them into the Senate, meet senators and delegates. And so we educate legislators to exactly about what public libraries do what they mean to the community.

Nestor Aparicio  20:52

Well, I mean, I I as a writer, and anytime I have library people on for me not proud or wherever I’m I’m very pro library. I think we you know, like it’s it’s a public resource that’s so important.

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Barry Glassman  21:05

They are community spots. I know going through the pandemic, or through blizzards. They, they were the spot. They were cooling centers in the in the heat. They are places to go during blizzards. So they’ve really come together as kind of community centers.

Nestor Aparicio  21:21

Everybody has the internet, but that’s not really the way it is. That’s not really the way it is. Yeah,

Barry Glassman  21:25

yep. And the deputy sheriff’s union. You know, I’ve been a big supporter of of Harford County deputies or law enforcement. Tough job. We’re in Annapolis working to get better pension benefits, really trying to get better pension benefits so counties can hire more deputies. It’s one of those professions now that it’s difficult to hire. You see shortage is not over. Not only in Baltimore, Harford County, Cecil. every jurisdiction is dealing with hiring.

Nestor Aparicio  21:58

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That is as a full time effort. Yeah.

Barry Glassman  22:00

Yeah. So I’m down there telling their story. Yep. Well, you’re

Nestor Aparicio  22:07

here telling your story, Barry Glassman for a car for county executive in semi retirement and lobbying on behalf of the recreational cannabis space, which I learned a lot. And that’s what we like to do on the show. I knew when I had you on, I’m like, I’m gonna learn some stuff because you’ve been Napoles with your ear out. Anything else in Annapolis. Not in your space that you found interesting for citizens?

Barry Glassman  22:28

No, I still think that change over since the good thing since a pandemic, even for lobbyist, that you can watch these hearings, you know, live streamed, everything is live streamed on your laptop now. So, you know, like you if you were really interested in that medical cannabis, it was an eight hour bill in an eight hour hearing in the Senate. But you didn’t

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Nestor Aparicio  22:51

have to go drive and park? Yes, I did. But you could watch it.

Barry Glassman  22:55

You know, there’s there is an advantage of sitting in that seat and being in the hearing room. But, you know, that whole change for citizens and the transparency is from my time serving, you know, 810 years ago, has really been transformed. I think it’s so it’s so much more open. And most of the committee’s now even have some space in the hearing schedule, where you still can zoom in and testify if you’re an average citizen, instead of trying to drive down there sign up and go through the Annapolis regimen, which can be tough to get in there and sit all day away from work. And so, to me that that is one of the best improvements. I think the legislature has done probably since its inception.

Nestor Aparicio  23:44

I haven’t I mean the last couple of months between not going to the Super Bowl and all the things going on. And the legislature being I haven’t had any politicians on. I’ve been not just dealing with sports or Lamar community issues. But now that it’s over with we’re getting back in the Mako is coming this summer. I’ll be down there for that. There’s a lot of change in the state and I think I was interested in that in the fall knowing we had new administration everywhere, kind of sort of in a lot of different places including Harford County that to measure it a little bit so I think I’m gonna do that this So, Barry Glassman he’s out on the streets here are for cannabis cinema here with crabcake and Pappus. All of it brought to you by the Maryland lottery and when did he come back? I’m going to have a crab cake because it’s Maryland crab cake toward if I don’t have a crab cake that gets its crab cake for back for more in Bel Air right after this from Pappas