Detroit Medical Marijuana Update

Detroit Medical Marijuana Update

The past week has actually been a busy one in the City of Detroit when it pertains to Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act issues. The City application due date for currently operating facilities was February 15. The Wayne County Circuit Court's Chief Judge, Robert Colombo, Jr. released a ruling pertaining to the voter initiatives and also dispensary zoning requirements. Finally, the City issued a moratorium on applications and also authorizations for brand-new medical marijuana dispensaries within the City of Detroit.

Detroit MMFLA Deadline Comes and Goes: If you were a medical marijuana provisioning center proprietor as well as you got 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 needed to be filed 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 or not you got on the approved list, and also despite 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. Basically, if you really did not 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 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 ask about the laws and regulations with a medical cannabis licensing attorney that recognizes the complexities of this ever-changing and also intricate location of law.

Moratorium on New Dispensaries:

Detroit has placed a six month moratorium on applications for Medical Marijuana dispensary licenses as of February 15. The City has specified that it will not provide any type of new dispensary licenses throughout that six month period. Much more substantially, for provisioning centers that were running under a municipal license or under a legal contract with the City that they would not close your center down, if you did not send your State Application for a dispensary license, as well as submit 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, as well as your presently issued and valid license to operate in the City, will certainly not be restored. Businesses that did not get their applications in by the deadline will have 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 might not issue any more licenses after that moratorium is passed, which it would be within its rights to do. Because of this, if you didn't get your application in prior to the deadline, you need to speak with a medical marijuana licensing attorney to discuss your alternatives moving forward.

Circuit Court Strikes Down Zoning Initiative:

The final 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 constraints concerning medical marijuana dispensaries. 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 lower the zoning requirements to make sure that provisioning centers 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 submitted 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 might not be transformed by voter initiative. Because of this, the initiatives were overruled and also the original zoning limitations are once more in place. While a number of citizen groups are vowing an appeal, it will certainly be a long time before the Court of Appeals and also, eventually, the Michigan Supreme Court can evaluate in on the issue. The zoning regulation, if it remains the same, will likely additionally influence new sorts of Medical Cannabis Facilities approved for licensing under the MMFLA.

Exactly how Does This Effect My Application?: If you are a dispensary operating lawfully in Detroit now, and you submitted your application to the State and the City by February 15, 2018, then, these changes will certainly have little to no impact on you. Anybody running a center in Detroit who did not apply by the deadline, or who is operating unlawfully and also is not on the Detroit authorized centers' checklist, the choice might be devastating. You may not have the ability to run your center after the end of the year, or sooner, relying on the nature of your center. If you are not on the authorized list, you will certainly not have the ability to get city approval to operate, which is a condition precedent to getting your State license. Because of this, you will certainly not be able to acquire an operating license from the State, and your unregulated facility is most likely to end up being a target of State regulators. If you were operating 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 continue running past your current licensing date. There is additionally no assurance that you will certainly have the ability to send an application after the present 6 month moratorium, nor is there any type of reason to think that the City will certainly authorize any more applications for dispensaries. If your wish is to continue offering patients with medicine, you require to speak with an educated medical cannabis licensing attorney to aid you create an intend on exactly how you can try to continue in the industry.

If you wish to discuss 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 appointment.