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.
“Michigan is home to approximately 270,000 medical marijuana patients and ensuring that these individuals have legal access to care is important to the citizens of our state,” he said in a brief statement.
Liberati represents Michigan’s 13th District, which includes Allen Park, Southgate and part of Dearborn Heights.
The other nine lawmakers are state Sen. David Knezek (D-Dearborn Heights) and state representatives Jewell Jones (D-Inkster); Robert Wittenberg (D-Oak Park); Patrick Green (D-Warren); Yousef Rabhi (D-Ann Arbor); Adam Zemke (D-Pittsfield Township); (Tom Cochran, D-Mason); David LaGrand (D-Grand Rapids); and Martin Howrylak (R-Troy).
The letter closes with a request for Snyder and Edgerton.
“It is not acceptable to allow a bureaucratic delay to bankrupt law-abiding small businesses, to destroy jobs, and to deny epileptic children and disabled veterans access to the medicines they need. You have the power to prevent this by either extending the deadline for continued operations or by devoting sufficient administrative resources to enable timely processing of licensure applications.”
“Please act promptly to protect the people of our state.”
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