A New Wave of Enforcement in Michigan
Late last week the Detroit Free Press reported that 40 medical marijuana business across the state of Michigan received an unwelcome visit from state officials. This marks the beginning of a new wave of enforcement has hundreds of other businesses are expected to receive cease and desist letters in coming weeks. A letter that permits “an applicant for a state operating license to temporarily operate a proposed marijuana facility under certain conditions,” as the Free Press reports.
Nearly one month after the application deadline of February 15th the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) took action and began shutting down several medical marijuana facilities that did not submit their applications and were technically now operating illegally under new state law. LARA allowed business owners to submit applications beginning in December of 2017 and will begin awarding licenses as early as April of this year.
Business owners who don’t comply with the new seed to sale laws are risking not being able to receive a license at all. From growers, processors, testing facilities, secure transportation and dispensaries Michigan has five categories which licenses can be issued. With a growing industry and the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs enforcing new laws business owners need to be licensed and utilizing the features of seed to sale software, like Nuggie.
As we reported in our last blog there are 331 paid applications ($6,000 per application) who will undergo a state background check and will also need approval from a town that had passed an ordinance allowing medical marijuana business. Nuggie provides numerous services that can help these applicants comply with Michigan state laws from RFID tags to Point of Sales and inventory management software. Managing these aspects will help with regulatory compliance after applications have been awarded.
The landscape of the marijuana industry has changed rapidly in the state of Michigan since 2008 with the voter approval of the Michigan Compassionate Care Initiative, which decriminalized medical cannabis for patients with qualifying conditions. At first, there wasn’t a regulatory framework but with this current wave of enforcement, it is clear that the state is now ready to handle a booming industry which is projected to generate millions of dollars in coming years.
To learn more about the recent changes for Michigan, visit Metrc and Michigan’s Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation website
