After September 15, Can I Still be a Caregiver?

The Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation is persevering on their position that all marijuana facilities that are not licensed by the State under the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, will have to close down, and will receive a cease and desist letter at that time. While the centers are not mandated to shut down, the State Bureau of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has made clear that any center that continues to operate after receipt of the cease and desist will most likely not be given a license. Further, the State has stated suggested Final Rules pertaining to Medical Marihuana Facilities licensing, which is going to enable or registered qualifying clients to get house deliveries from provisioning centers (with limitation, obviously) and also will certainly additionally permit online buying. So, where does that leave registered caregivers, who were anticipating to be able to remain relevant to their clients up until 2021?

Traditional

The old model for registered caregivers was rather easy. You were allowed to grow up to twelve plants for each client. You could have 5 clients, other than yourself. If the caregiver was also a client, they could also grow twelve plants for individual usage also. So, a caregiver could cultivate a total amount of seventy-two marihuana plants. The majority of caregivers generated far more usable marihuana from those plants than they could use for patients and personal usage. The caregivers would then sell their excess product to medical marihuana dispensaries.

Under the emergency rules, marihuana dispensaries that were running with municipal authorization, but that had not obtained a State license were allowed to continue running and purchasing from registered caregivers. Those facilities were allowed to acquire caregiver overages for thirty days after receiving their State license for stock. That suggested considerable profits for caregivers as well as considerable supply for dispensaries.

After September 15, 2018

The troubles for registered caregivers only begins on September 15, 2018. All State licensed centers that will remain open and operating can not buy any product from caregivers. State Licensed Provisioning Centers, but statute and administrative rules are strictly banned from acquiring or offering any kind of product that is not generated by a State Licensed Grower or Processor that has actually had their item tested and certified by a State Licensed Safety Compliance Facility. Any State Licensed Provisioning Center that is found to have product available for sale that is not from a State Licensed Grower or Processor is subject to State sanctions on their license, including short-term or permanent revocation of the license. Given the risk, licensed facilities are very unlikely to risk purchasing from a caregiver, given the prospective effects.

Additionally, the unlicensed centers to whom caregivers have been continuing to sell to, even during the licensing process, will be closing down. Some may continue to run, but given the State's position on centers that do not adhere to their cease and desist letters being looked at very unfavorably in the licensing process, the market will be drastically reduced, if not eliminated. Consequently, caregivers will certainly not have much recourse for marketing their excess, and also will certainly be limited only to their present clients.

New Administrative Rules

A hearing will be held on September 17, 2018 concerning the brand-new suggested final administrative rules for the regulation of medical marihuana facilities, which will become effective in November, when the emergency rules cease being effective. Those final recommended administrative rules allow for house delivery by a provisioning center, and will also allow controlled online ordering. Those 2 things eliminate much of the function contemplated by caregivers under the brand-new policies. Clients would still need them to head to the provisioning facility to grab and deliver cannabis to patients that were too ill or who were disabled and could not reach those licensed facilities to get their medicinal marijuana. With this adjustment to the administrative rules, such patients will no longer require a caregiver. They will have the ability to place an order online and have the provisioning facility deliver it to them, essentially removing the requirement of a caregiver.

Final thought

For better or worse, the State is doing everything it can to remove caregivers under the brand-new administrative scheme, even prior to the prepared removal in 2021 contemplated by the MMFLA. There are a lot of factors the State could be doing it, but that is of little comfort to caregivers. The bottom line is, the State is eliminating the caregiver , and they are moving that process along with celerity. The State is sending the message that they desire caregivers out of the marketplace as soon as possible, and they are developing regulations to guarantee that occurs sooner rather than later. The caregiver model, while advantageous and required under the old Michigan Medical Marihuana Act structure, are currently going the way of the Dodo. Like everything else, the Marihuana legislations are evolving, and some things that have prospered in the past, won't make it to see the brand-new legalized era.

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