Maryland laid the foundation for legal medical cannabis use through a series of affirmative defense laws, or legislation that requires courts to consider a defendant's medical condition when ruling in cases of marijuana possession or use.

In 2003, then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. signed Senate Bill 502 -- the Darrell Putman Compassionate Use Act -- limiting fines for Maryland marijuana users to $100 if the defendant was able to convince a judge of medical necessity. But defendants could still receive a misdemeanor for possession of marijuana.

At the time, Maryland's was considered one of the least-accommodating of all state medical marijuana laws.

While still not providing legal access to medical marijuana, Senate Bill 308, the "affirmative defense" law, removed fines and criminal penalties for people who had been charged with possessing up to an ounce of marijuana if they could prove medical necessity. Then-Gov. Martin O'Malley signed SB 308 into law.

Gov. O'Malley signed House Bill 1101 bill into law, allowing seriously ill residents to access medical marijuana, but only "academic medical centers" were allowed to distribute it. No hospitals participated in the program, and the law was widely criticized as ineffective.

The law also established the independent, 12-person Natalie M. LaPrade Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, tasked with administering and regulating the state's medical marijuana program, within the state Department of Health.

A year after signing Maryland's first medical marijuana law, Gov. O'Malley signed twin bills HB 881 and SB 923, making medical marijuana use legal for certain health conditions. According to the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, that includes "Any condition that is severe [or] for which other medical treatments have been ineffective," and to treat symptoms that "reasonably can be expected to be relieved by the medical use of cannabis."

The law allows qualifying patients to carry up to a 30-day supply of medical cannabis, and provides patient ID cards for a fee of $50 (though ID cards are not required to be registered as a patient in the state's database). It also permits licensed dispensaries to distribute medical marijuana and, initially, allows for a maximum of 15 licensed medical marijuana growers in the state.

In another move welcomed by medical marijuana users, O'Malley also signed SB 364, decriminalizing marijuana use in posession of small amounts (10 grams or less). The law reduced the existing penalty from up to $500 in fines, and/or 90 days in jail, to $100 with no jail time.

Despite not being licensed yet, Green Way Consults had seen at least 100 clients by the summer of 2015. Its physicians are not yet allowed to certify patients for marijuana use, so the clinic provides information about the law and places patients on a wait list to see a physician after the program opens.

In an NBC Washington story covering the clinic's opening, Hannah Byron, head of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, cautioned that the program's regulations are not yet final, and that only physicians in good standing with the state will be licensed to refer patients for medical cannabis use once the program becomes operational.

The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission posted its much-anticipated application forms online on Sept. 28, 2015. The committee called for applications "from qualified applicants interested in receiving a license to operate as a medical cannabis grower, processor or dispenser within the state."

The commission received 882 applications -- over twice the number expected -- by its November 6 deadline, causing delays in processing and reporting the final tally.

More than 80 percent of the applications were for licenses to operate one of only 100 dispensaries allowed under state law.

The MMCC initially predicted that evaluating, scoring and ranking the applictions would be completed by mid‐January 2016, but that deadline was extended after the commission received more applications than expected.

Once announced, each applicant who has been pre-approved will have 365 days to complete final steps and request inspection by the commission. Those steps could include acquiring real estate, securing local zoning approvals, building facilities, installing equipment and systems, and hiring and training staff.