Detroit Medical Cannabis Update

Detroit Medical Marijuana Update

The previous week has 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. issued a ruling pertaining to the voter initiatives as well as dispensary zoning requirements. Ultimately, the City provided a halt on applications and also authorizations for brand-new medical marijuana provisioning centers within the City of Detroit.

Detroit MMFLA Deadline Comes and Goes: If you were a medical marijuana provisioning center owner and you were on the City's approved 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 likewise had to be filed with the City of Detroit for municipal attestation of operating approval by that date also. If you did not get your application in by February 15, 2018, whether you were on the approved list, and also no matter whether you have been operating with City approval, your license with the City will certainly not be renewed. Neither will your present municipal license to run be renewed. In short, 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 six months, until the moratorium is passed. Even then, there's no guarantee 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 who understands the intricacies of this ever-changing as well as intricate area of legislation.

Moratorium on New Dispensaries:

Detroit has placed a 6 month moratorium on applications for Medical Marijuana dispensary licenses as of February 15. The City has actually stated that it will not release any kind of new provisioning center licenses throughout that 6 month duration. Even more considerably, for dispensaries that were operating under a municipal license or under a legal agreement with the City that they would certainly not close your facility down, if you did not submit your State Application for a provisioning center license, and send your application to the City of Detroit for an attestation by close of business on February 15, 2018, you will certainly not be approved to operate, and also your currently issued and valid license to operate in the City, will certainly not be restored. Businesses that did not get their applications in by the target date will certainly have to wait until at least after the moratorium is over before they can attempt to re-apply. There has been a lot of discussion that the City might not provide anymore licenses after that moratorium is passed, which it would certainly be within its rights to do. As a result, if you didn't get your application in before the due date, you ought to chat with a medical cannabis licensing attorney to review your options moving on.

Circuit Court Strikes Down Zoning Initiative:

The last news relates to the voter initiatives that were passed in November which altered the zoning requirements for provisioning centers. Citizens authorized a reduction in the zoning restrictions regarding medical marijuana provisioning centers. The ordinance required that a dispensary had to be at the very least 1000 feet away from a church or school. The initiatives proposed to reduce the zoning requirements to ensure that dispensaries only 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 filed a suit in the Wayne County Circuit Court. On Friday, Wayne County Circuit Court Chief Judge Robert Colombo, Jr. determined 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 initial zoning restrictions are again in place. While several citizen teams are vowing an appeal, it will be a long time before the Court of Appeals and also, ultimately, the Michigan Supreme Court can consider in on the issue. The zoning regulation, if it continues to be the same, will likely additionally influence new sorts of Medical Cannabis Facilities authorized for licensing under the MMFLA.

Exactly how Does This Effect My Application?: If you are a provisioning center operating lawfully in Detroit right now, as well as you sent your application to the State and the City by February 15, 2018, after that, these adjustments will certainly have little to no impact on you. Any person operating a facility in detroit that did not apply by the due date, or that is operating illegally and is not on the Detroit approved facilities' checklist, the choice might be devastating. You may not be able to run your facility after completion of the year, or sooner, depending upon the nature of your center. If you are not on the approved list, you will not be able to acquire city authorization to run, which is a condition precedent to getting your State license. Because of this, you will not be able to obtain an operating license from the State, and your unregulated facility is likely to end up being a target of State regulators. If you were running legally, but did not get your application in to the City or the State by February 15, 2018, you will not be municipally accepted to proceed running past your existing licensing date. There is additionally no guarantee that you will certainly be able to submit an application after the present 6 month moratorium, neither exists any reason to think that the City will certainly approve any more applications for provisioning centers. If your desire is to continue giving patients with medication, you need to talk with an educated clinical cannabis licensing attorney to aid you create a plan on just how you can attempt to proceed in the market.

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

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

contact Fowler & Williams, PLC today for an examination.