One of the biggest components of the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA) Part 2 application is the “facility plan”. However, as the Part 2 application is a complete overview of your proposed marijuana business, you might be wondering what else could be involved in preparing a facility plan?

 On May 17, 2018, the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) released inspection guides for all 5 license types under the MMFLA (i.e. provisioning centers, growers, secured transporters, processing centers, and safety compliance centers).  These guides serve as the definitive checklist that all Michigan medical marijuana facilities must follow in order to be approved for a Michigan medical marijuana business license.

 Based on the statutory definitions related to “marihuana” found in the Michigan Public Health Code, the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, and the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, any extracts of marihuana or extracts of the marihuana plant will continue to be treated as marihuana. That means that the possession, purchase, or sale of marihuana or any marihuana product – including CBD – must be done in compliance with the MMMA and MMFLA.

For Part 2 applications, the focus of the application centers on business specifications. You will have to show extensive documentation. This documentation includes a lease or deed for the business property, employee information, and proof of financial responsibility – meaning that you can show enough money, either in cash, securities, insurance policies or bonds, to cover liability for bodily injury that may result from the manufacture, distribution, transportation or sale of adulterated marijuana products.

Currently Michigan’s marijuana laws are governed by the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA), which dictates who can grow, sell, transport, test, and process marijuana and hemp products in the state of Michigan. The language of the RMLA initiative is substantially less restrictive on who can have a license to grow or sell marijuana compared to MMFLA. The RMLA makes it tougher for municipalities to limit the amount of facilities in their city or township, which has the overall effect of loosening up the State’s licensing laws.

Not Everyone’s Getting a Michigan Medical Marijuana License

The passage of the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA), which created a commercial licensing structure for Michigan Medical Marijuana businesses, required support from both Republicans and Democrats to pass. On the one side, Democrats favored a more open, less regulated market similar to Oregon’s medical marijuana law, which would allow all but the most unsavory characters to obtain a license. On the other side, Republicans wanted a highly regulated system with only a few large, licensed players—similar to the Ohio ballot initiative that was voted down in 2015.