Michigan Reopens Unlicensed Medical Cannabis Provisioning Centers Due to Shortage

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap]fter being severely hit with shortages, Michigan will allow temporary facilities to reopen and enable them to get cannabis from caregivers as well as commercial cultivators.

A temporary restraining order had allowed medical cannabis provisioning centers that were unlicensed by the state to stay open until Jan. 1. Over 70 medical provisioning centers were closed as of Jan. 1, when the grace period for getting a state license for operations expired. Those shops have since been inundated with patients trying to find access to cannabis medication.

Last Tuesday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the director of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs asked the state’s medical cannabis board to approve temporary operating facilities to reopen and accept cannabis from caregivers. The board approved another temporary measure that slowed the process of getting a license for medical dispensaries to open and remain open until licensed or till March 31.

“I think this resolution takes this back to the intent of the law—and that is to get medicine to the people who need it,” said Vivian Pickard, medical cannabis board member.

There have also been concerns that Michigan’s lack of cannabis supply for patients and acceptance of home-grown cannabis have created unsafe conditions for patients and grown dependence on the state’s black market.

Michigan had allowed dispensaries to accept cannabis from caregivers for patients due to a shortage last month.  Unfortunately, the previous home-grown experiment, which had allowed patients who signed a waiver to purchase cannabis grown by caregivers, had resulted in three recalls this month. The dispensaries were required to start testing all cannabis sold to customers as of Jan. 1 of this year.

“What we’ve done with these temporary operations for the past year and a half — we’ve expanded the black market. It’s an unintended consequence, but that’s exactly what’s happened,” said medical cannabis board member Don Bailey. “For the black market we’ve contributed to — if we think that’s going to contract after April 1, it’s not.”

Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has until December of this year to develop cannabis regulation, and cannabis is expected to be commercially available early next year.