Experts say getting a medical marijuana license in Michigan is much harder than it should be.
If you want to open up a medical marijuana business in Michigan, you have to have some deep pockets: starting with roughly 6 thousand dollars.
With new regulations in place, both business owners and their attorneys say the state application fee is just too much.
“We were hoping it would be a lot more like liquor licensing than it has turned out to be,” said Denise Pollicella, the founder of Cannabis Attorneys of Michigan,
Pollicella has spent the last 10 years working to help regulate the medical marijuana industry.
She says as our state continues to make changes to regulation, it’s putting Michigan behind when it comes to medical marijuana.
“The way we had set out to regulate it is similar and the process was similar, we were hoping that the licensing would be similar. It has not turned out that way,” said Pollicella.
She says getting a license in the state is a long and hard process, which falls under the Michigan Marijuana Licensing Facilities Act.
Those who apply have to meet a certain criteria and provide information including account balances for the past three years and a list of large purchases and individual assets.
Tom Mayes owns Greenwave Dispensary in Lansing. He says because of the application process, many vendors simply don’t do it.
“With all the different regulations and going through licensing, some businesses were closed because they didn’t meet some of the requirements or the pre-qualifications, or they just didn’t apply,” said Mayes.
Pollicella says she hopes the state makes this application easier in the future to prevent people from buying marijuana from places that may not be safe.
“Unregulated, untested marijuana is not necessarily always a safe thing,” said Pollicella.
While this may seem like a rigorous process for some, Pollicella says it’s necessary to ensure safety.
