The Michigan Medical Marijuana Licensing Board has voted to allow more than 60 medical cannabis dispensaries to reopen at least until March 31 as their license applications are processed.
The decision was announced after there was an outcry that patients would find it hard to get medical cannabis if that large number of dispensaries is closed pending the processing of their license applications.
The reprieve given to the closed businesses is subject to a number of conditions. First, the local government of the area should have granted the business approval to operate in their jurisdiction. The business should have also submitted its license application within a certain timeframe, in addition to meeting the other conditions before it reopens.
This decision was met with some reservations by a section of the members of the licensing board. These individuals felt that letting these closed businesses to reopen would be unfair to those dispensaries that had done everything possible to acquire a license.
By reopening unlicensed dispensaries, the board may be setting a precedent that it makes no difference whether you comply with regulatory requirements in time or not.
These concerned board members were of the view that the 50 licensed dispensaries should have been given a chance to see a boom in their sales as a reward for taking timely action to get licensed. The unlicensed dispensaries are 72.
In a related development, medical marijuana products that haven’t been tested and approved can still be sold at the different dispensaries within Michigan as long as the dispensary gives the patient an acknowledgment form to sign confirming that the patient is aware that the product hasn’t met all the testing requirements of the state.
The previous Governor of Michigan, Rick Synder, had tried to close all the medical cannabis dispensaries that were still using the emergency rules as the basis of their operation before they get licenses.
However, those attempts to close the dispensaries were thwarted by court rulings and the desire to protect patients’ interests regarding ease of access to medical marijuana. This recent reprieve by the licensing board is yet another speed bump on the journey to accept only licensed dispensaries to operate in the state.
All in all, it is good that the interests of the patients have been given precedence by the medical marijuana licensing board in Michigan. Sproutly Canada, Inc. (OTCQB: SRUTF) (CSE: SPR) (FRA: 38G) and SinglePoint, Inc. (OTCQB: SING) urge the affected dispensaries to comply with all the regulatory requirements so that their operations aren’t disrupted once the deadline reaches.
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