Marijuana licensees are currently regulated under two different state laws
By Elena Durnbaugh
Gongwer News Service
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle think it’s time to modernize Michigan’s marijuana industry and bring the medical and recreational systems under the same regulatory umbrella.
Last week, Rep. Graham Filler (R-Duplain Township) and Rep. Jimmie Wilson Jr. (D-Ypsilanti) introduced HB 5884 and HB 5885 to merge regulations for recreational adult-use and medical marijuana into the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act and repeal the older medical marijuana law.
“It’s the same cannabis. It’s going through the same process,” Filler said, “But they run on different tracks, which is just an additional licensing fee. It’s an additional regulatory structure built into CRA. I mean, there’s a whole division there – why do we need that?”
Currently, marijuana licensees in Michigan are regulated under two different state laws: the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, created by the Legislature in 2016 to oversee facility regulation and licensing, and the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act, passed by voters in 2018.
The dual system means that marijuana licensees must renew both a medical and recreational license annually to grow, process, transport, or sell marijuana.
By condensing the licensing, Filler said medical marijuana patients would also gain access to the new products being developed for recreation.
“If I’m an investor, if I have a new kind of edible or a new flower, where am I going to spend my money? Medicinal? Or rec? I’m going to go rec, because everybody’s doing rec right now,” Filler said.
Filler said protecting medical marijuana patients was an important part of the legislation, and that he and co-sponsor Wilson were aiming to keep the bills simple.
“No Christmas tree gifts,” he said. “It’s modernization. It’s saving people money. It’s expanding access.”
Communities that haven’t approved recreational sale would be grandfathered in under the new legislation, Filler said.
“That’s the best way to do that,” he said. “If you approved one and didn’t approve the other, then we’re not forcing you to now sell something, we’ll be aware of that as an issue. Medicinal patients use a card. They can still use that card to get the discount.”
Changing the way Michigan does licensing will make the state’s cannabis market more stable, Wilson said in a statement.
“This is about making Michigan an attractive and stable place for marijuana businesses to thrive,” he said. “A single, cohesive regulatory framework will support our growing economy, ensure the safety and quality of marijuana products, and maintain access for medical marijuana patients. This is a forward-thinking approach that positions Michigan as a leader in the industry.”
Filler also talked about stability.
“If someone says, ‘It seems like Michigan has a very modern statute and a CRA that’s easy to deal with and very clear with their administrative rules – it’s not going too far one way or the other,’ I think all that gets put together,” Filler said.
Caregivers have also been included in the conversation of drafting these bills, Filler said, which is different than how similar legislation has been approached in the past.
The biggest outstanding question, Filler said, is whether there will be the political will to take the bills up in the fall. In contemplating his own question, Filler said he thinks leadership will want to take up the bills.
“And I’ll tell you why: It’s Taylor Swift,” he said referring to the bill package he worked on with Rep. Mike McFall (D-Hazel Park) to ban bots from buying event tickets en masse. “It’s because when you put good, bipartisan legislation together, that’s actually been worked on instead of just, ‘Here’s a bill. I’m on the right side of the chair today,’ it allows the Democrats, the Republicans and the stakeholders who have worked so hard on this (to come together). And there’s not going to be opposition.”
The bills were referred to the House Regulatory Reform Committee for consideration.
Gongwer News Service
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle think it’s time to modernize Michigan’s marijuana industry and bring the medical and recreational systems under the same regulatory umbrella.
Last week, Rep. Graham Filler (R-Duplain Township) and Rep. Jimmie Wilson Jr. (D-Ypsilanti) introduced HB 5884 and HB 5885 to merge regulations for recreational adult-use and medical marijuana into the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act and repeal the older medical marijuana law.
“It’s the same cannabis. It’s going through the same process,” Filler said, “But they run on different tracks, which is just an additional licensing fee. It’s an additional regulatory structure built into CRA. I mean, there’s a whole division there – why do we need that?”
Currently, marijuana licensees in Michigan are regulated under two different state laws: the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, created by the Legislature in 2016 to oversee facility regulation and licensing, and the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act, passed by voters in 2018.
The dual system means that marijuana licensees must renew both a medical and recreational license annually to grow, process, transport, or sell marijuana.
By condensing the licensing, Filler said medical marijuana patients would also gain access to the new products being developed for recreation.
“If I’m an investor, if I have a new kind of edible or a new flower, where am I going to spend my money? Medicinal? Or rec? I’m going to go rec, because everybody’s doing rec right now,” Filler said.
Filler said protecting medical marijuana patients was an important part of the legislation, and that he and co-sponsor Wilson were aiming to keep the bills simple.
“No Christmas tree gifts,” he said. “It’s modernization. It’s saving people money. It’s expanding access.”
Communities that haven’t approved recreational sale would be grandfathered in under the new legislation, Filler said.
“That’s the best way to do that,” he said. “If you approved one and didn’t approve the other, then we’re not forcing you to now sell something, we’ll be aware of that as an issue. Medicinal patients use a card. They can still use that card to get the discount.”
Changing the way Michigan does licensing will make the state’s cannabis market more stable, Wilson said in a statement.
“This is about making Michigan an attractive and stable place for marijuana businesses to thrive,” he said. “A single, cohesive regulatory framework will support our growing economy, ensure the safety and quality of marijuana products, and maintain access for medical marijuana patients. This is a forward-thinking approach that positions Michigan as a leader in the industry.”
Filler also talked about stability.
“If someone says, ‘It seems like Michigan has a very modern statute and a CRA that’s easy to deal with and very clear with their administrative rules – it’s not going too far one way or the other,’ I think all that gets put together,” Filler said.
Caregivers have also been included in the conversation of drafting these bills, Filler said, which is different than how similar legislation has been approached in the past.
The biggest outstanding question, Filler said, is whether there will be the political will to take the bills up in the fall. In contemplating his own question, Filler said he thinks leadership will want to take up the bills.
“And I’ll tell you why: It’s Taylor Swift,” he said referring to the bill package he worked on with Rep. Mike McFall (D-Hazel Park) to ban bots from buying event tickets en masse. “It’s because when you put good, bipartisan legislation together, that’s actually been worked on instead of just, ‘Here’s a bill. I’m on the right side of the chair today,’ it allows the Democrats, the Republicans and the stakeholders who have worked so hard on this (to come together). And there’s not going to be opposition.”
The bills were referred to the House Regulatory Reform Committee for consideration.
