Detroit Medical Cannabis Update

Detroit Medical Marijuana Update

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

Detroit MMFLA Deadline Comes and Goes: If you were a medical marijuana provisioning center owner as well as you were on the City's approved operating list, you were required to send your application to the State of Michigan Bureau of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs by February 15, 2018. That application additionally had to be filed with the City of Detroit for municipal attestation of operating approval by that date as well. If you did not get your application in by February 15, 2018, whether you got on the accepted list, and also despite whether you have been operating with City authorization, your license with the City will certainly not be renewed. Neither will your existing municipal license to operate 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 present 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 warranty that you will be able to apply, or be approved, once the moratorium is over. All the more reason to inquire about the regulations and guidelines with a medical cannabis licensing attorney that comprehends the complexities of this ever-changing and complex area of law.

Moratorium on New Dispensaries:

Detroit has placed a 6 month moratorium on applications for Medical Cannabis dispensary licenses since February 15. The City has stated that it will not provide any kind of brand-new dispensary licenses throughout that six month period. Much more considerably, for provisioning centers that were operating under a municipal license or under a contractual arrangement with the City that they would not shut your facility down, if you did not send your State Application for a provisioning center license, and submit your application to the City of Detroit for an attestation by close of business on February 15, 2018, you will not be authorized to operate, and your currently issued and valid license to operate in the City, will certainly not be restored. Organisations that did not get their applications in by the deadline will need 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 issue any more licenses after that moratorium is passed, which it would certainly be within its rights to do. Because of this, if you didn't get your application in before the target date, you ought to talk with a medical marijuana licensing lawyer to review your options progressing.

Circuit Court Strikes Down Zoning Initiative:

The final news pertains to the voter initiatives that were passed in November which changed the zoning requirements for provisioning centers. Citizens authorized a reduction in the zoning constraints concerning medical cannabis dispensaries. 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 to make sure that provisioning centers only had 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 could not be changed by voter initiative. Consequently, the initiatives were struck down and also the original zoning restrictions are once more in place. While several citizen teams are vowing an appeal, it will be time before the Court of Appeals and, eventually, the Michigan Supreme Court can consider in on the concern. The zoning statute, if it continues to be the same, will likely also influence brand-new sorts of Medical Marijuana Facilities approved for licensing under the MMFLA.

Just how Does This Impact 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 also the City by February 15, 2018, after that, these adjustments will certainly have little to no influence on you. Anyone running a facility in Detroit who did not apply by the deadline, or who is operating unlawfully and is not on the Detroit authorized centers' listing, the choice might be ruining. You may not be able to operate your center after completion of the year, or sooner, depending upon the nature of your facility. If you are not on the accepted list, you will certainly not have the ability to get city approval to operate, which is a condition precedent to obtaining your State license. Therefore, you will not be able to obtain an operating license from the State, and also your unregulated facility is likely to come to be a target of State regulators. If you were running lawfully, however did not get your application in to the City or the State by February 15, 2018, you will not be municipally accepted to proceed operating past your current licensing date. There is likewise no warranty that you will certainly be able to send an application after the present six month moratorium, nor exists any kind of reason to believe that the City will certainly authorize anymore applications for dispensaries. If your need is to continue giving patients with medicine, you need to consult with a knowledgeable clinical cannabis licensing attorney to aid you generate a plan on how you can attempt to continue in the market.

If you intend to discuss acquiring a license under the Michigan medical marijuana Facilities Licensing Act,

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

call Fowler & Williams, PLC today for an assessment.