Detroit Medical Cannabis Update

Detroit Medical Cannabis Update

The previous week has actually been a busy one in the City of Detroit when it involves Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act problems. The City application deadline for currently running facilities was February 15. The Wayne County Circuit Court's Chief Judge, Robert Colombo, Jr. released a judgment regarding the voter initiatives as well as dispensary zoning requirements. Ultimately, the City issued a postponement on applications and approvals for new medical marijuana dispensaries within the City of Detroit.

Detroit MMFLA Deadline Comes and Goes: If you were a medical marijuana dispensary owner and also you got on the City's accepted operating list, you were required to submit your application to the State of Michigan Bureau of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs by February 15, 2018. That application also needed to be submitted with the City of Detroit for municipal attestation of operating approval by that date too. If you did not get your application in by February 15, 2018, whether you were on the accepted list, and also regardless of whether you have been running with City approval, your license with the City will not be renewed. Neither will your present municipal license to operate be renewed. Simply put, if you didn't get your application in by February 15, 2018, you're out of luck after the expiration of your existing license, at least, within the limits of the City of Detroit, for at a minimum of 6 months, until the moratorium is passed. Even then, there's no assurance that you will be able to apply, or be approved, once the moratorium is over. All the more reason to inquire about the laws and policies with a medical cannabis licensing lawyer that comprehends the complexities of this ever-changing as well as intricate location of legislation.

Moratorium on New Provisioning Centers:

Detroit has placed a 6 month moratorium on applications for Medical Marijuana provisioning center licenses since February 15. The City has stated that it will certainly not release any type of brand-new dispensary licenses throughout that six month duration. A lot more considerably, for dispensaries that were operating under a municipal license or under a contractual agreement with the City that they would certainly not shut your center down, if you did not send your State Application for a dispensary license, as well as send your application to the City of Detroit for an attestation by close of business on February 15, 2018, you will not be approved to operate, and your presently issued and valid license to operate in the City, will certainly not be renewed. Organisations that did not get their applications in by the deadline will certainly need to wait until at least after the moratorium is over before they can try to re-apply. There has been a lot of discussion that the City may not release anymore licenses after that moratorium is passed, which it would certainly be within its rights to do. Therefore, if you didn't get your application in before the target date, you need to talk with a medical cannabis licensing lawyer to discuss your options moving forward.

Circuit Court Strikes Down Zoning Initiative:

The last news pertains to the voter initiatives that were passed in November which transformed the zoning requirements for dispensaries. Voters authorized a decrease in the zoning limitations concerning medical marijuana provisioning centers. The ordinance required that a provisioning center had to be at the very least 1000 feet away from a church or school. The initiatives proposed to reduce the zoning requirements so that dispensaries just needed to be less than 500 feet away from a church or school. The City of Detroit challenged the legality of the voter initiatives and submitted a suit in the Wayne County Circuit Court. On Friday, Wayne County Circuit Court Chief Judge Robert Colombo, Jr. established that under the Home Rule statute, which governs how cities like Detroit are run and governed in the State of Michigan, zoning restrictions and requirements can not be transformed by voter initiative. As a result, the initiatives were struck down and the original zoning limits are once again in place. While numerous citizen teams are vowing an appeal, it will be time before the Court of Appeals as well as, ultimately, the Michigan Supreme Court can weigh in on the issue. The zoning regulation, if it continues to be the same, will likely also influence brand-new types of Medical Marijuana Facilities approved for licensing under the MMFLA.

Exactly how Does This Effect My Application?: If you are a dispensary operating legally in Detroit today, as well as you sent your application to the State and the City by February 15, 2018, after that, these adjustments will have little to no effect on you. Any person running a facility in Detroit that did not apply by the deadline, or who is operating illegally and also is not on the Detroit accepted facilities' list, the choice might be devastating. You might not be able to run your center after the end of the year, or sooner, depending on the nature of your center. If you are not on the accepted list, you will not have the ability to obtain city approval to operate, which is a condition precedent to acquiring your State license. Because of this, you will certainly not have the ability to obtain an operating license from the State, and also your unregulated facility is likely to become a target of State regulators. If you were running legitimately, yet did not get your application in to the City or the State by February 15, 2018, you will not be municipally authorized to continue operating past your current licensing date. There is also no warranty that you will certainly be able to send an application after the present 6 month moratorium, nor exists any kind of reason to think that the City will certainly authorize anymore applications for provisioning centers. If your desire is to continue giving individuals with medication, you need to consult with an experienced clinical cannabis licensing lawyer to assist you think of an intend on exactly how you can attempt to continue in the sector.

If you wish to review obtaining a license under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act,

be it a dispensaries, processing center, grow operation, testing laboratory or secured transporter,

contact Fowler & Williams, PLC today for a consultation.

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