Lawmakers ask governor to halt scheduled shutdown of Michigan medical marijuana facilities

August 20, 2018
AggregatedNews
Michigan
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A group of Michigan legislators wants to prevent a scheduled shutdown of many of the state’s medical marijuana businesses.

At issue, the band of nine Democrats and one Republican says, is a “significant backlog” of licensing applications from marijuana businesses, some of which applied prior to Feb. 15.

Their letter to Gov. Rick Snyder and Shelly Edgerton, director of the department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), opens: “On behalf of our constituents, we urgently ask you to ensure that Michiganders continue to have access to reliable sources of medical marijuana.”

The letter points out that, after cancelling a July meeting, the licensing board is expected to review only 20 to 30 applications per month.

According to an MLive report, only 16 licenses had been issued to medical marijuana businesses by the state board as of Aug. 9. More than 200 businesses—from growers to processors to testers—are currently operating and more than 600 businesses have applied for licenses.

Despite the backlog, state regulators have set a Sept. 15 deadline for medical marijuana facilities to comply with state licensing requirements. Cease and desist letters will be sent to non-compliant businesses beginning Sept. 16.

State Rep. Frank Liberati is one of the ten lawmakers who signed the letter. [Read more at The News Herald]

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