Am I All set To Apply for a Medical Marihuana Facilities Grow License?

Thinking about beginning a Medical Marihuana Grow to make sure that you can provide marijuana to the medical marihuana market? Are you a Medical Marihuana Act licensed caregiver who wishes to take your product commercial on a bigger range? Thanks to the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, now you can do so legally, as long as you can successfully obtain a license from the State to do so. This might be a great opportunity with lots of new owners seeing tremendous degrees of profit as well as success in the market. Nonetheless, if you make this choice, you do need to make certain that you obtain a Michigan commercial grow license. Failing to do so will cause your venture being, probably, unlawful as well as bring about court activity that will paralyze your organisation before it starts.

Sadly, the Michigan commercial grow license application is a long, complicated and costly process. Ask a medical marijuana lawyer, as well as they will certainly inform you that you need to make certain that you are prepared. Let’s take a look at the steps you will certainly need to take, the team you need to build as well as the position that you could find yourself in.

Who Can Apply?

The first question to ask yourself is whether or not you are qualified to apply for a Medical Marihuana Facilities license. The good news is that anybody, an individual or a full company can apply for a license. Applications began in 2017, and there is currently no deadline to complete the required forms. Naturally, there are particular individuals, that, due to the fact that they can not satisfy the minimum financial requirements, or since they have a disqualifying criminal conviction in their background, are prevented from applying. However, assuming you don’t have a disqualifying criminal conviction, and you, or your group of financiers, satisfy the minimal monetary needs, there are two major actions to the MMFLA licensing application process. The primary step will certainly be finished whether you have a final location for your structure or not. Nevertheless, if you have already chosen a place prior to sending your State application, something that we extremely advise, you can complete both actions at the very same time.

Pre-Qualification

Pre-qualification is the first step, and it starts with an extensive background check. There are 2 sections– 401 as well as 404 of the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act (M.C.L. 333.27401 et seq.) to refer to when identifying who you need to legally divulge and whether they have a relevant business interest in your operation. This consists of people such as the spouse of the individual and also all corporate officers. This is just one of the reasons that it is worth seeking advice from an MMMA lawyer as it can be quite difficult to get all the information correct. The State will certainly intend to do a deep dive into the backgrounds of not only all of the “interested parties,” or members/owners of your cannabis company, but the State will certainly additionally explore the backgrounds of every one of those individual’s spouses also. Should any individual have a disqualifying criminal conviction in their past, or not be of “good moral character,” the State can deny the entire application. To put it simply, if there is one bad apple in the bunch, the State throws away the entire application. For that reason, it is very important to find out about the histories of the persons you have in your investment group, prior to applying for your Medical Marihuana Facilities License. There are a lot of things that a seasoned lawyer can do to assist you get ready for your application, and to guarantee that any type of prospective concerns with your application are recognized, divulged or gotten ready for before the application is sent. Nevertheless, this isn’t the only reason why an attorney will often be an important and required hire.

Take into consideration The Cost

Before your information can be assessed by an expert from the Bureau of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation (BMMR), you need to pay a $6000 cost for your application. BMMR will refuse to move on with your application until this has been paid in full. In addition to being expensive, this fee is non-refundable so you want to see to it that there are no concerns with your application that can result in it being rejected. An MMFLA lawyer can guarantee that this is the case as well as help you navigate any kind of tricky problems. Even more, before you can obtain State authorization for operation, you will certainly also have to get a municipal or city approval. Each city or township will also need you to complete an application as well as you will need to pay an application fee there too. The application cost can vary depending on what the city wants to charge, nevertheless, they can not charge greater than $5,000.00. Most cities as well as townships are charging the maximum amount. In total, the application fees alone are most likely to be in excess of $10,000.00. That does not include the costs of ancillary services, such as accounting professionals, architects, marketing experts and also various other services needed for your application to be complete.

When you have collected as well as paid the application fees, all candidates as well as supplemental applicants will have their fingerprints taken. You could believe that if you already have had your finger prints taken by local police this action can be missed. However, BMMR will certainly not accept finger prints unless they are requested and collected by them via the licensing process. You will have to go to an approved location where your finger prints can be collected electronically as well as submitted for review by the State.

Facility License

This is the second step and bear in mind, if you have already chosen a location to grow cannabis, you can complete this step with the first. You have to be prepared to fulfill all the MMFLA rules. During this step, you will need to have a business plan. However, that plan must include certain things. You must have all of the parts called for by the State: facility plan, security plan, marketing plan, staffing plan, technology plan, waste disposal plan (if applicable), as well as a record keeping plan. There are specific minimum requirements set forth in the Administrative Rules that regulate MMFLA facilities, with which you must show your business is in compliance.

Your facility must be located in a city or township that permits MMFLA services to operate. The MMFLA has strict rules for people and services intending to grow in a municipality. If you intend to grow in a district, it must have an ordinance that authorizes marihuana facility operations. Colloquially, the municipality must have “opted-in” to the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act (list of Michigan municipalities who have actually opted in to MMFLA), and also it must have passed a regulatory ordinance that sets for the policies and also standards for those centers to run within the city or township. The full standards can be located in 205, yet if you do have any kind of inquiries you need to call your municipal authority. Or, alternatively, get your lawyer to do this for you. As the application progresses, BMMR will certainly call candidates, offering information on any kind of other needs, including a pre-licensure inspection of your location or facility.

Authorized

Finally, you may acquire approval for your license. After you are informed of this, you will certainly need to pay for a regulatory assessment. Presently, the regulatory assessments for 2018 are as follows:

Safety Compliance Facility and Secured Transporters– $0.00.

Class A Grow License– $10,000.

Class B Grow License– $48,000.00.

Class C Grow License– $48,000.00.

Processor and Provisioning Center– $48,000.00.

Likely, the State will establish an across the board equivalent regulatory assessment for all licenses in 2019. Regulatory assessments are subject to change every year, so it is impossible to anticipate specifically what it will be. However, starting in 2019, regardless of which license you acquire, anticipate the assessment to be imposed and also for that assessment to be significant.

Verdict.

We hope this helps you choose whether you are ready to apply for a Michigan commercial grow license. Bear in mind, with a lawyer by your side, this process can be much simpler, and also you will gain experienced recommendations on how to proceed properly to make sure that your application is accepted. Even after you get authorization, legal guidance is suggested to ensure you stay on top of changes to the legislation and policies, and so that you can stay in compliance and keep your business open.

Here at Fowler & Williams, PLC, we concentrate on helping customers get MMFLA licenses and also making sure continuing compliance.

Should you choose to retain counsel to help you on your licensing journey, give us a phone call.

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October 31, 2018 Deadline for Caregivers and The Changing Marihuana Dynamic in Michigan

Caregivers and the DoDo

Cannabis and extinct birds would seemingly never ever turn up in any conversation. However, in talking with our marijuana clients, many of them are inquiring about the viability of the Caregiver model, especially as it was promoted years. What many in the industry have actually described as the “Caregiver Model” is going the way of the Do-Do bird on October 31, 2018. Halloween this year will certainly be the extinction event for the caregiver model as lots of have actually understood it for many years here in Michigan. While Caregivers will certainly continue to have the ability to grow and market to their registered patients, and for themselves, if they are additionally registered qualifying patients, the “gray market” where they were selling their excess, and making a fairly good revenue, is coming to an end.

What was the “Caregiver Model?”

Under the old “Caregiver Model,” a Registered Caregiver could grow up to seventy-two (72) marihuana plants, if they had 5 registered qualifying patients (the most you were permitted) and they were a registered patient as well. In some cases, numerous caregivers would gather at one place and grow their crops together, separated by paint lines on the flooring, or in more sophisticated circumstances, with each having a safeguarded locked room within the larger enclosed, secured facility. Several Caregivers might create even more useful marihuana than their patients could utilize. Those caregivers would certainly then sell their excess to dispensaries, many of which were running with municipal approval throughout the State. This “gray” industry led to considerable profits for lots of caregivers and dispensary owners. Under Michigan’s Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, nevertheless, caregivers were mosting likely to be phased out by 2021. Numerous Caregivers and industry insiders really felt that indicated the “Caregiver Model” can remain to create those very same earnings for another 2 or 2 and a half years. The State, nevertheless, had other plans.

The State’s Response

The State of Michigan, however, had other plans for the upstart cannabis market. First, the Bureau of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has taken a very scrutinizing approach to licensing applications where any one of the applicants were Caregivers. Many of those applications have actually been refuted over the past several months due to the fact that the Board has located that there were failings to reveal by a lot of these caregivers concerning just how much cash they made, exactly how they made it, and for failure to state that earnings on a State or Federal Tax Return. Nonetheless, in a September 2018 posting, LARA and the BMMR posted that all facilities that are running with municipal approval, but which have actually not received a State License, have to quit buying unlabeled and unauthorized medical marihuana on October 31, 2018. https://www.michigan.gov/lara/0,4601,7-154-79571_79784-479748–,00.html. Any type of marihuana acquired after the October 31, 2018 date by those centers need to be effectively classified and coded as required by the rules, and must originate from a properly State Licensed grower or processor. The caregivers might still grow, however they will have no methods through which to sell their product legitimately to a provisioning facility or processor. The old “Caregiver Model” will, effectively, come to an end.

Outcomes and Consequences

Some may suggest that there are still licensed or unlicensed centers that are mosting likely to proceed purchasing from caregivers, in spite of the State mandate. To make sure, there might be some that take that risk.

However, the State has demonstrated a commitment to enforcement and inspection. If the State were to establish that an applicant or a licensed facility was still taking caretaker excess and selling them, the State would likely take action. If an applicant were to be caught participating in this model, they would likely be rejected immediately by the Board. If a licensed center were to be caught breaking this mandate, the State would likely move forward with sanctions against that center’s license, including a suspension or cancellation of the license. Given just how much those licenses are worth, and the cost of obtaining any one of the allowed facility licensing types, a lot of owners will certainly be really reluctant to take chances with the possible loss of their license, or understanding that their license will not be renewed.

If you are a caregiver and don’t know what to do come October 31, 2018, are a person thinking of making an application for a mmfla license, or are an applicant who needs representation or has inquiries regarding exactly how these modifications will affect you, give us a call. We have the experience and knowledge in the cannabis and marihuana regulation areas to assist address your questions and give you the support you need.

10 Things You Need To Know Before Opening A Marihuana Provisioning Center

You may be thinking of opening a marihuana provisioning center in Michigan. Now, after the passage of the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act or the MMFLA (M.C.L. 333.27401 et seq.) that is possible, however only if you obtain municipal approval and a State issued operations license. “Provisioning Center” is the legally permissible term under Michigan’s Bureau of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation, for what was previously referred to informally as a “dispensary.” The existing policies no longer permit such companies to be referred to legally as “dispensaries” and the State requires that they be referred to as marihuana provisioning centers. A provisioning center is basically a organisation where qualifying patients under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act or the MMMA (M.C.L. 333.26421 et seq.) may come to acquire medical marihuana for medical usage. While a provisioning center can be a lucrative venture, there are a couple of things you to understand before you move forward.

Can You Transport Cannabis In A Private Car?

Currently, under Michigan law, the general guideline is that possession and transport of marihuana in a automobile is forbidden by law, and subjects you to criminal charges. Only registered qualifying patients and registered caregivers under the MMMA may transport marihuana in a automobile. Even then, they have to do so in strict compliance with the MMMA. Marijuana may only transported in a locked, closed container in the trunk of a vehicle, where it can not be accessed by the driver or individuals in the traveler compartment. You may also not have more than 2.5 ounces of usable marihuana, per registered qualifying patient. Caregivers may transport usable marihuana for as much as 5 patients (and themselves also if the caregiver is also a qualifying patient) or up to 12 plants per patient (again, including plants for the caregiver, if they are also a qualifying patient). Under the MMFLA, however, provisioning centers that are licensed by the State and their local municipality, must only accept marihuana into their facility that is brought by a MMFLA State Licensed Secured Transporter, or, if they have a grow or processing center co-located ( connected to or on the same property) and transportation of the marihuana will not happen on a public road, it can be moved as set forth by LARA, BMMR under the Administrative rules.

How Much Marijuana Can You Offer?

A licensed provisioning center under the MMFLA may not sell more than 2.5 ounces of marihuana each day to a registered qualifying patient. A provisioning center that is licensed may likewise sell to a registered primary caregiver, but not more than 2.5 ounces per qualifying patient attached to the caregiver’s license. If you are licensed by the State to run a provisioning center, you will need to use a point of sale system that has software that is complaint with the Statewide Monitoring Database, which utilizes a software program called METRC. The State permits using twenty-four (24) software programs that are METRC compliant. Every customer who enters a provisioning center, you will have to use a point of sale system that has software that is compliant. Every client who goes into a provisioning center has to have their card run through the Statewide Monitoring Database to guarantee that they have not already been given their maximum daily quantity of 2.5 ounces from another licensed provisioning center. A provisioning center should also update the qualifying patient’s profile on the Statewide Monitoring Database after sale, so that the Database will show how much medical marihuana was purchased by the patient at your provisioning center.

What License Do You Need?

You need a full license supplied by the state to run as a Michigan provisioning center. If you are growing marijuana, you will likewise need to make certain that you get a Michigan commercial grow license application. You may want to talk to an MMFLA attorney, such as Fowler & Williams, PLC, about this to make sure that you are fully licensed, or you will be shut down. Most importantly, DO NOT begin operating your provisioning center without a State license being issued to you under the MMFLA. While the process of getting a license is complicated and needs a considerable amount of time and money, the profitability of these provisioning centers far exceeds the cost of getting one. If you can get approved for a license and get through the application process to acquire a provisioning center license, you ought to do so before you start running.

Can You Get More Than One License?

Yes, you can apply and qualify for more than one license. This is useful for any business or person who wants to establish a provisioning center and a grow or processor at the very same time. According to the law, there is absolutely nothing stopping you from doing this. Further, you can acquire several provisioning center licenses so that you can operate several provisioning centers in different cities. The licenses do not connect to the person or the business that is using, allowing you to use it anywhere you desire. Rather, the licenses attach to the property you provide on your application for the business. For that reason, if you wish to open multiple provisioning centers, you will need to send numerous State applications. If you want to acquire various types of licenses (say a grow or processor license) in addition to a provisioning center, you can co-locate them at one facility, but you need to submit different applications for each license type, and must fulfill the minimum monetary and background requirements independently for each license type.

Just How Much Will A License Cost?

The cost for the license application to the State is $6,000.00 per application, regardless of license type applied for, including for a provisioning center. There are also municipal application fees, which can be as much as $5,000.00 per application. Each municipality is different, and they can charge various fees, and they can vary the costs depending on which type of license you apply for. Generally, however, they charge the maximum enabled, which is $5,000.00 per license application. Even more, after you receive a State license, there are regulatory assessments that will need to be paid every year, both after issuance and each year after when the license is renewed.

In 2018, the assessments vary.

Secured Transporters and Safety Compliance Facilities (testing labs) have no assessment ($ 0.00).

Class A Growers have a $10,000.00 regulatory assessment.

Class B and Class C Growers, Provisioning Centers and Processors have a $48,000.00 regulatory assessment.

The State has actually said that starting in 2019 there will be a standardized regulatory assessment that will apply to all license holders, regardless of the kind of license provided. For now, nevertheless, the assessments will remain as noted above. You will also find that there are other professional fees that you will have to pay in order to guarantee that your application is complete, and that your business plan, with all of its needed parts, is up to par with the State’s application requests. Those expenses can differ considerably, and are tough to anticipate.

Needless to say, the application and licensing process is an pricey venture, however in a market that is slated to do about $891,000,000.00 in annual sales this year, up from about $741,000,000.00 in 2017, the roi could be significant.

Should You Have A Legal representative?

While not mandatory, you should certainly ensure that you are acquiring guidance from an MMFLA attorney before you consider opening a Michigan provisioning center. It  is necessary that you get the very best possible legal advice and that you are following all the regulations and requirements. Only an lawyer experienced in managing cases under the MMMA and licensing work under the MMFLA, like Fowler & Williams, PLC, can ensure that you have all the tools and guidance that you need to give your application the best chance at success. Failure to make sure that your application is complete, and that it supplies support for your capability to presently comply and ensure future compliance with the Administrative rules, your application is far more likely to be rejected or denied, and your dream of opening a provisioning center brought to an unceremonious ending.

Just How Much Will This Business Cost?

You can anticipate the total start-up fees for this kind of service to be anywhere between 400 and 500K, at a minimum. While the State requires a minimum capitalization requirement of $300,000.00 (one quarter of which must be liquid funds), that will not suffice, realistically, to start business. You will need to potentially acquire land or property in an opted-in municipality. (Here is an up to date list of Michigan Municipalities currently opted-in to MMFLA) There will be mandatory fees, costs, and professional services that you need to get to guarantee that your application is precise and complete, and to ensure that you are presently in compliance with all laws and guidelines, as well as making sure future compliance. This consists of everything from licensing to a full group of employees and much more. It’s definitely not cheap, and you need to be prepared for a heavy investment. However, as noted above, the marketplace is big, and continuing to grow.

Can You Go Mobile?

No, you can not run a mobile provisioning center as it is currently illegal to operate one in the state of Michigan. Nevertheless, this might change, which’s why it  is essential to talk to a medical marihuana lawyer routinely, so that you are keeping up to date with changes to the law. Cannabis law is an evolving and changing field, and as a outcome, there might come a time where the MMFLA or the MMMA is amended to enable a mobile provisioning center.

What Are You Legally Able To Do?

As a provisioning center, your sole function is to supply safe medical marihuana to registered qualifying patients. You may only offer marihuana or marihuana infused items that were grown by a MMFLA licensed grower or processed by a MMFLA licensed processor and the items have been tested by a MMFLA licensed safety compliance facility with proper labeling and tracking. You may not sell these products prior to your obtaining a license, unless you were operating with city approval prior to February 15, 2018 and you have actually already sent an application to the State looking for a license.

Soon a modification in law will likely enable recreational marijuana sales. If the ballot initiative passes, for the first two years after the State passes recreational marijuana facility regulations and begins accepting licensing applications, only facilities licensed by the MMFLA to sell, grow, process, transport or test medical marihuana will be legally allowed to obtain recreational marihuana licenses for the same activity. Thus, acquiring a provisioning center license under the MMFLA, offers you the chance to go into the recreational market, where others will not.

What Are The Requirements?

In order to obtain a provisioning center license, you need to guarantee that you do not have a disqualifying criminal conviction, and that you meet the minimum capitalization requirements, which as noted earlier are $300,000.00 with 25% liquid capital. You will likewise have to obtain an appropriately zoned structure in a city or municipality that has “opted-in” to the MMFLA to allow such centers to run within their borders. Whether your own it or lease it does not matter, however you need to have the building. After that, you will need to produce a business plan which contains all of the necessary components from the state, consisting of a security plan, facility plan, marketing plan, staffing plan, technology plan, recordkeeping plan, waste disposal plan, and more, showing that you will adhere to the State’s policies now and in the future.

Conclusion

We hope this offers you with some of the details you need prior to opening a Michigan provisioning center. Needless to say, the process is expensive, intricate and time consuming, however the benefit and ROI can be substantial. In reality, obtaining a skilled MMFLA and MMMA attorney, like Fowler & Williams, PLC, can help streamline and simplify the application procedure, and take most of the work off your plate.

If you want information, or wish to come in and speak about making an application for a provisioning center license, we would love to have you come in for a consultation.