Michigan Releases Emergency Adult-Use Cannabis Rules

Under emergency adult-use cannabis industry rules in Michigan, cannabis businesses will be easier to open than medical cannabis businesses, delivery will be allowed, and the door is open for social use, according to an MLive report.

Organizers of special events and festivals will be required to obtain a permit from the state if they want cannabis consumption to be permitted at the event and the state will have a special license for clubs and lounges to allow consumption so long as there are not alcohol or food sales at the establishment.

The rules also eliminate the requirement for adult-use businesses to show they have the funds to start the businesses and licensing fees will be much cheaper than their medical counterparts. According to the rules, a 100-plant “entry-level” recreational cultivation license will cost $4,000 while a 500-plant entry-level medical growing license will cost $10,000. The rules also allow a special license for grows larger than 10,000 plants.

Retail dispensary licenses will range from $20,000 to $30,000, while a medical dispensary license will cost $66,000.

Medical and recreational cannabis products can be sold at the same store; however, the products must be physically separated. Shop owners will be able to use the same entrance and point-of-sale systems for the transactions.

Under the emergency regulations, online mail-order sales, mobile dispensaries, and drive-thrus are prohibited. Recreational businesses will be allowed to obtain clones from current medical producers for their initial grows in an effort to help get the adult-use market off the ground.

The Marijuana Regulatory Agency is set to begin accepting business license applications on November 1 – the same cutoff date for municipalities planning to ban cannabusinesses – and plan on issuing social equity rules for the industry later this month. Adult-use sales are expected no later than March 2020.