Howard County CRRF Distribution Plan
The Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund, or CRRF, is a special, non-lapsing fund in Maryland that results from adult-use cannabis tax revenue and certain fees. CRRF was established as part of cannabis reform to acknowledge and repair harms caused by the unequal enforcement of cannabis laws and disproportionate arrests and incarceration for cannabis-related crimes. Funds must be distributed by jurisdictions to community-based organizations for initiatives that serve low-income communities and disproportionately impacted areas.
State law requires counties to develop a plan for the distribution of CRRF to community-based organizations. Howard County’s Office of Community Partnerships conducted a community engagement process over three months in 2026 to inform the development of a preliminary distribution plan. Howard County’s distribution plan draft is currently open for public input:
- Read the Howard County CRRF Distribution Plan
- The summary and information from the Distribution Plan Public Hearing can be found here: Distribution Plan Summary Presentation
- Provide feedback here: Link to Survey
Cannabis Reform and the Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund
In 2022, Maryland voters passed a ballot referendum supporting legalization of cannabis possession and consumption in the state—67% of voters favored legalization. The Cannabis Reform Act of 2023 created the framework for adult-use cannabis in Maryland. It also established Maryland’s Office of Social Equity, imposed a sales tax on adult-use cannabis, and established the Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund (CRRF).
Cannabis tax revenue collected by the state is distributed across many funding areas, including the Cannabis Public Health Fund, Cannabis Business Assistance Fund, Maryland counties, and state general fund. Among these distributions, CRRF is a special fund which receives 35% of this tax revenue. The money collected by the state in the CRRF is then redistributed quarterly on a formula basis to each jurisdiction, including Howard County, and held in a special fund locally.
While cannabis is now legal, the past enforcement of drug laws for many decades has meant that people have been arrested, incarcerated, and experienced lifelong harms for use and possession of cannabis. These harms have multi-generational impacts on families and communities and have disproportionately impacted Black and Brown Marylanders, who have been incarcerated at higher rates for cannabis-related crimes. These differences in enforcement of drug laws have contributed to inequities in economic, public health, and social conditions.
The CRRF was created to acknowledge and work to repair some of the impacts of disparate enforcement and build capacity in impacted communities. This fund must be directed to community-based organizations for the purpose of supporting low-income residents and communities. By state law, the fund may not support law enforcement agencies or activities, and it may not supplant (replace) funding that otherwise would be appropriated for local programs. In other words, it must be used to create new programs and resources or to expand the reach of existing programs and resources.
Howard County established a dedicated special revenue fund for CRRF to hold the state distributions separate and ensure they are used in alignment with requirements. In Howard County, the fund must be used in the zip codes 21044 and 21045, which were identified as communities disproportionately impacted by historical enforcement of drug laws.
Funds have not yet been distributed in Howard County. Funds will be distributed through grants following the development of a distribution plan that is informed by community input. The county is now in the process of gathering community input on the use of these funds.
The County also convenes a monthly meeting of the Adult-Use Cannabis Advisory Panel, a board of community members with personal and professional experience. This board advises the county on the implementation of adult-use cannabis and the use of Community Reinvestment and Repair Funds. These meetings are open to the public. Please contact dheilman@howardcountymd.gov for more information about these meetings.