LANSING, MI (MPRN)-- Michigan is on its way to a fully regulated and licensed medical marijuana system.
The state approved licenses for two marijuana testing labs. That was the last piece the medical marijuana industry in the state needed to have a fully functioning market. Other pieces, like dispensaries and a processing facility already have licenses.
But people are concerned about the pile of dispensary applications waiting to be reviewed. That’s because come September 15th those shops will have to close if they don’t have a license.
David Harns is a spokesperson for the Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation. He says the state is sticking with the deadline.
“We don’t want to have two different methods of operation out there, some folks who are operating temporarily, some folks who are operating in the regulated market. We need to make sure that that winds down at some point here,” he says.
The state has approved more than a dozen applications for licenses. It’s a multi-step application process that includes a fee of thousands of dollars.