10 Things You Need To Know Before Opening A Marihuana Provisioning Center

You might be thinking of opening a marihuana provisioning center in Michigan. Now, after the passage of the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act or the MMFLA (M.C.L. 333.27401 et seq.) that is possible, however only if you acquire municipal approval and a State issued operations license. "Provisioning Center" is the legally allowable term under Michigan's Bureau of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation, for what was previously referred to colloquially as a "dispensary." The current regulations no longer allow such businesses to be referred to legally as "dispensaries" and the State requires that they be referred to as marihuana provisioning centers. A provisioning center is basically a organisation where qualifying patients under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act or the MMMA (M.C.L. 333.26421 et seq.) may come to buy medical marihuana for medical usage. While a provisioning center can be a rewarding venture, there are a couple of things you to know before you move forward.

Can You Transport Marijuana In A Personal Car?

Currently, under Michigan law, the general guideline is that possession and transport of marihuana in a vehicle is forbidden by law, and subjects you to criminal penalties. Only registered qualifying patients and registered caregivers under the MMMA may transport marihuana in a automobile. Even then, they must do so in strict compliance with the MMMA. Marijuana may only transferred in a locked, closed container in the trunk of a vehicle, where it can not be accessed by the driver or individuals in the guest compartment. You may also not have more than 2.5 ounces of usable marihuana, per registered qualifying patient. Caregivers may carry usable marihuana for up to 5 patients (and themselves as well if the caregiver is also a qualifying patient) or up to 12 plants per patient (again, including plants for the caregiver, if they are also a qualifying patient). Under the MMFLA, nevertheless, provisioning centers that are licensed by the State and their local municipality, must only accept marihuana into their facility that is brought by a MMFLA State Licensed Secured Transporter, or, if they have a grow or processing center co-located ( connected to or on the same property) and transport of the marihuana will not occur on a public road, it can be moved as set forth by LARA, BMMR under the Administrative rules.

Just How Much Marijuana Can You Supply?

A licensed provisioning center under the MMFLA may not offer more than 2.5 ounces of marihuana per day to a registered qualifying patient. A provisioning center that is licensed may likewise offer to a registered primary caregiver, but not more than 2.5 ounces per qualifying patient attached to the caregiver's license. If you are licensed by the State to operate a provisioning center, you will have to utilize a point of sale system that has software that is complaint with the Statewide Monitoring Database, which utilizes a software program called METRC. The State allows making use of twenty-four (24) software programs that are METRC compliant. Every client who sets foot in a provisioning center, you will need to utilize a point of sale system that has software that is compliant. Every client who enters a provisioning center has to have their card run through the Statewide Monitoring Database to guarantee that they have not already been supplied their maximum daily allotment of 2.5 ounces from another licensed provisioning center. A provisioning center must likewise update the qualifying patient's profile on the Statewide Monitoring Database after sale, so that the Database will show how much medical marihuana was purchased by the patient at your provisioning center.

What License Do You Need?

You need a full license supplied by the state to run as a Michigan provisioning center. If you are growing cannabis, you will likewise require to ensure that you apply for a Michigan commercial grow license application. You may want to speak to an MMFLA legal representative, such as Fowler & Williams, PLC, about this to ensure that you are fully licensed, or you will be shut down. Most importantly, DO NOT begin operating your provisioning center without a State license being issued to you under the MMFLA. While the process of getting a license is complex and requires a significant quantity of time and money, the profitability of these provisioning centers far surpasses the cost of getting one. If you can get approved for a license and make it through the application procedure to obtain a provisioning center license, you must do so before you start running.

Can You Get More Than One License?

Yes, you can apply and receive more than one license. This is useful for any business or individual who wants to establish a provisioning center and a grow or processor at the very same time. According to the law, there is nothing stopping you from doing this. Further, you can obtain numerous provisioning center licenses so that you can run numerous provisioning centers in different cities. The licenses do not connect to the person or the business that is using, enabling you to utilize it anywhere you desire. Rather, the licenses attach to the property you provide on your application for the business. Therefore, if you wish to open multiple provisioning centers, you will need to submit numerous State applications. If you prefer to acquire different types of licenses (say a grow or processor license) in addition to a provisioning center, you can co-locate them at one facility, but you need to send different applications for each license type, and need to fulfill the minimum financial and background requirements independently for each license type.

How Much Will A License Cost?

The cost for the license application to the State is $6,000.00 per application, regardless of license type applied for, including for a provisioning center. There are also municipal application charges, which can be approximately $5,000.00 per application. Each municipality is different, and they can charge different fees, and they can vary the fees depending on which kind of license you apply for. Usually, however, they charge the maximum allowed, which is $5,000.00 per license application. Further, after you receive a State license, there are regulatory assessments that must be paid yearly, both after issuance and each year after when the license is renewed.

In 2018, the assessments differ.

Secured Transporters and Safety Compliance Facilities (testing labs) have no assessment ($ 0.00).

Class A Growers have a $10,000.00 regulatory assessment.

Class B and Class C Growers, Provisioning Centers and Processors have a $48,000.00 regulatory assessment.

The State has actually said that beginning in 2019 there will be a standardized regulatory assessment that will apply to all license holders, despite the type of license issued. In the meantime, nevertheless, the assessments will stay as noted above. You will also discover that there are other professional fees that you will need to pay in order to ensure that your application is complete, and that your business plan, with all of its essential parts, is up to par with the State's application requests. Those costs can differ considerably, and are tough to anticipate.

Needless to say, the application and licensing process is an expensive endeavor, however in a market that is slated to do about $891,000,000.00 in annual sales this year, up from about $741,000,000.00 in 2017, the roi could be significant.

Should You Have A Legal representative?

While not mandatory, you should definitely make sure that you are acquiring advice from an MMFLA legal representative before you think about opening a Michigan provisioning center. It  is necessary that you get the best possible legal recommendations and that you are following all the regulations and requirements. Only an attorney experienced in dealing with cases under the MMMA and licensing work under the MMFLA, like Fowler & Williams, PLC, can ensure that you have all the tools and guidance that you need to give your application the best opportunity at success. Failure to make certain that your application is complete, and that it offers support for your ability to currently comply and guarantee future compliance with the Administrative rules, your application is much more likely to be declined or denied, and your dream of opening a provisioning center brought to an unceremonious ending.

Just How Much Will This Business Cost?

You can expect the total start-up fees for this kind of organisation to be anywhere between 400 and 500K, at a minimum. While the State requires a minimum capitalization requirement of $300,000.00 (one quarter of which must be liquid funds), that will not suffice, realistically, to start business. You will need to potentially buy land or property in an opted-in municipality. (Here is an up to date list of Michigan Municipalities currently opted-in to MMFLA) There will be mandatory fees, costs, and expert services that you need to obtain to ensure that your application is precise and complete, and to guarantee that you are currently in compliance with all laws and policies, as well as making sure future compliance. This includes everything from licensing to a complete team of workers and much more. It's definitely not cheap, and you need to be prepared for a heavy financial investment. Nevertheless, as noted above, the marketplace is large, and continuing to grow.

Can You Go Mobile?

No, you can not run a mobile provisioning center as it is presently prohibited to operate one in the state of Michigan. However, this might change, which's why it  is essential to speak with a medical marihuana attorney frequently, so that you are keeping up to date with changes to the law. Marijuana law is an evolving and changing field, and as a outcome, there might come a time where the MMFLA or the MMMA is amended to permit a mobile provisioning center.

What Are You Legally Able To Do?

As a provisioning center, your sole function is to supply safe medical marihuana to registered qualifying patients. You may only offer marihuana or marihuana infused items that were grown by a MMFLA licensed grower or processed by a MMFLA licensed processor and the products have actually been tested by a MMFLA licensed safety compliance facility with proper labeling and tracking. You may not sell these products prior to your acquiring a license, unless you were operating with city approval prior to February 15, 2018 and you have already submitted an application to the State looking for a license.

Soon a change in law will likely enable recreational marijuana sales. If the ballot initiative passes, for the first 2 years after the State passes recreational cannabis facility policies and starts accepting licensing applications, only centers licensed by the MMFLA to offer, grow, process, transport or test medical marihuana will be legally permitted to get recreational marihuana licenses for the same activity. Therefore, acquiring a provisioning center license under the MMFLA, offers you the opportunity to get in the recreational market, where others will not.

What Are The Requirements?

In order to obtain a provisioning center license, you need to guarantee that you do not have a disqualifying criminal conviction, and that you fulfill the minimum capitalization requirements, which as noted earlier are $300,000.00 with 25% liquid capital. You will likewise have to acquire an appropriately zoned building in a city or municipality that has "opted-in" to the MMFLA to permit such facilities to operate within their limits. Whether your own it or lease it does not matter, but you must have the building. After that, you will need to produce a business plan that contains all of the necessary components from the state, including a security plan, facility plan, marketing plan, staffing plan, technology plan, recordkeeping plan, waste disposal plan, and more, showing that you will comply with the State's guidelines now and in the future.

Conclusion

We hope this supplies you with some of the details you need before opening a Michigan provisioning center. Needless to say, the procedure is expensive, intricate and time consuming, but the reward and ROI can be significant. In reality, obtaining a skilled MMFLA and MMMA lawyer, like Fowler & Williams, PLC, can help streamline and simplify the application process, and take the majority of the work off your plate.

If you want info, or want to come in and speak about requesting a provisioning center license, we would enjoy to have you come in for a consultation.