The Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation is standing firm on their position that all marijuana centers that are not licensed by the State under the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, will have to close down, and will get a cease and desist letter at that time. While the centers are not mandated to close down, the State Bureau of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has explained that any facility that continues to operate after receipt of the cease and desist will likely not be given a license. Additionally, the State has set forth recommended Final Rules pertaining to Medical Marihuana Facilities licensing, which is going to enable or registered qualifying patients to get home shipments from provisioning centers (with restriction, of course) and will certainly additionally allow online ordering. So, where does that leave registered caregivers, that were anticipating to be able to stay relevant to their clients until 2021?
Traditional
The old model for registered caregivers was pretty simple. You were permitted to cultivate up to twelve plants for each client. You could have five patients, other than yourself. If the caregiver was also a client, they could also grow twelve plants for individual use too. So, a caregiver could grow a total amount of seventy-two marihuana plants. Many caregivers produced far more usable marihuana from those plants than they could use for patients and personal use. The caregivers would then sell their excess product to medical marihuana dispensaries.
Under the emergency rules, marihuana dispensaries that were operating with municipal authorization, but that had actually not gotten a State license were allowed to proceed operating as well as purchasing from registered caregivers. Those centers were permitted to acquire caregiver overages for thirty days after obtaining their State license for stock. That suggested significant profits for caregivers as well as substantial supply for dispensaries.
After September 15, 2018
The issues for registered caregivers only begins on September 15, 2018. All State licensed facilities that will continue to be open and operating can not buy any kind of product from caregivers. State Licensed Provisioning Centers, but statute and administrative rules are strictly forbidden from acquiring or offering any kind of product that is not generated by a State Licensed Grower or Processor that has had their item tested and certified by a State Licensed Safety Compliance Facility. Any State Licensed Provisioning Center that is discovered to have product for sale that is not from a State Licensed Grower or Processor is subject to State sanctions on their license, including temporary or permanent revocation of the license. Given the threat, licensed facilities are extremely unlikely to risk purchasing from a caregiver, given the possible effects.
Even more, the unlicensed facilities to whom caregivers have been continuing to sell to, even throughout the licensing process, will be shutting down. Some may continue to operate, but given the State's position on centers that do not abide by their cease and desist letters being looked at very adversely in the licensing process, the market will certainly be significantly reduced, if not eliminated. Consequently, caregivers will not have much recourse for marketing their excess, and also will certainly be restricted only to their present clients.
New Administrative Rules
A hearing will be held on September 17, 2018 concerning the new recommended final administrative rules for the regulation of medical marihuana facilities, which will become effective in November, when the emergency rules stop being effective. Those final suggested administrative rules permit house delivery by a provisioning center, and will additionally allow controlled online buying. Those 2 things take away much of the function contemplated by caregivers under the brand-new policies. Patients would still require them to head to the provisioning center to get and deliver marijuana to clients that were too unwell or who were impaired and could not get to those licensed centers to get their medicinal cannabis. With this change to the administrative rules, such clients will no longer require a caregiver. They will have the ability to place an order online and have the provisioning facility deliver it to them, essentially eliminating the need of a caregiver.
Final thought
For better or worse, the State is doing everything it can to remove caregivers under the new administrative system, even before the intended elimination in 2021 contemplated by the MMFLA. There are a great deal of factors the State could be doing it, but that is of little comfort to caregivers. The bottom line is, the State is eliminating the caregiver , and they are moving that process along with celerity. The State is sending the message that they want caregivers out of the industry as soon as possible, and they are developing guidelines to ensure that happens sooner rather than later. The caregiver model, while advantageous and necessary under the old Michigan Medical Marihuana Act structure, are now going the way of the Dodo. Like everything else, the Marihuana laws are evolving, and some things that have thrived in the past, won't make it to see the new legalized era.
