Michigan officials end caregiver marijuana supply to medical pot shops
The stock of medical marijuana products at licensed Michigan businesses will soon change, as a result of new guidance from state officials.
Effective immediately, licensed medical marijuana provisioning centers can no longer stock their shelves with products grown by caregivers, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency announced Thursday in a press release.
Licensed shops can only buy from state-licensed growers and processors. Caregivers, however, will be allowed to sell to state-licensed growers and processors — who will be required to test the product and enter it into the state’s tracking system.
The switch away from the illegal supply of caregiver weed to the regulated market was supposed to occur April 1, but was delayed for a month due to a barrage of lawsuits filed against the state in a separate but entangled issue over the ability of unlicensed pot shops to operate.
Court of Claims Judge Stephen Borrello issued his orders two days ago — which allow unlicensed pot shops to stay open until 60 days after officials decide on their license applications. Borrello left the issue of caregiver product up to the Marijuana Regulatory Agency to decide.
Now the embattled medical marijuana market will switch over to regulated product as its main source.
Corporate mega-growers have criticized the use of caregiver marijuana for the past five months, as it has tested positive for E. coli, Salmonella, mold, lead and other heavy metals. No illnesses have been reported to the state from its use.
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Michigan judge slams state for ‘freakish’ regulation of medical marijuana businesses
A year-long saga of changing compliance deadlines for 50 medical marijuana shops allowed to operate unlicensed is over.
Court of Claims Judge Stephen Borrello ordered Tuesday that Michigan regulators cannot set any new compliance deadline for unlicensed pot shops.
In his 12-page opinion, Borrello chastised officials in the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs for being “ill-equipped” to handle the licensing process in a timely manner — which has led to the current market of unlicensed businesses.
“At the outset, the Court notes that LARA’s entire method of handling license applications has been ‘apt to sudden change, freakish, or whimsical,’” Borrello wrote.
Temporarily operating provisioning centers will be allowed to operate until their license applications are considered by the state — and officials can only ask them to shut down 60 days after their license application has been denied, Borrello ordered in a ruling that affects eight consolidated cases.
Borrello has left the issue of whether caregiver marijuana can be used to supply the licensed market up to the state to decide.
The state’s new Marijuana Regulatory Agency is reviewing the court orders before issuing a statement, said David Harns, spokesman for the agency.
The state has been trying to hold unlicensed businesses to a licensing deadline since June 2018 but have been thwarted by court orders. Borrello has previously extended the deadline. The most recent attempt to enforce a deadline was brought forward by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who had proposed March 31 — but another barrage of last-minute legal filings from medical marijuana businesses stopped that under a ruling from Borrello.
Komorn Law has associated our law firm expanding its cannabis and hemp industry services across the globe. If you are thinking about starting a business in this area you will need legal guidance and corporate counsel.
On April 18, 2019 – Governor Whitmer launched anAg pilot programfor farmers interested in farming hemp this year. Under the 2014 Farm Bill, this program is meant for research purposes.
“MICHIGAN IS UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO GROW, PROCESS AND MANUFACTURE INDUSTRIAL HEMP. WE ARE ONE OF THE NATION’S MOST AGRICULTURALLY DIVERSE STATES – GROWING 300 DIFFERENT COMMODITIES ON A COMMERCIAL BASIS – MAKING IT A NATURAL FIT,” SAID WHITMER. “THIS EMERGING CROP NOT ONLY CULTIVATES NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR FARMING COMMUNITY, BUT IT ALSO CREATES AN AVENUE FOR NEW BUSINESSES TO CROP UP ACROSS THE STATE.”
MDARD will be holding a series of licensing events at theMSU Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Educationin Lansing. These meetings will serve to facilitate expedited issuance of required licenses and research agreements during the following times:
Tuesday, April 23 8:30 am – 11:45 am, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Wednesday, April 24 8:30 am – 11:45 am, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Monday, April 29 8:30 am – 11:45 am, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Tuesday, April 30 8:30 am – 11:45 am, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Forms for a grower registration, a processor-handler license, and participation in MDARD’s 2019 Hemp Ag Pilot Program are now available online. The department will beginaccepting applications on April 23, 2019. Grower registration costs $100 and a processor-handler license cost $1,350.
“MICHIGAN’S PILOT PROGRAM ALLOWS OUR FARMERS TO EXPLORE THE PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING FOR HEMP TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THIS IS A FINANCIALLY VIABLE CROP FOR THEM,” SAID GARY MCDOWELL, MDARD DIRECTOR. “IT ALSO HELPS PAVE THE WAY FOR MICHIGAN GROWERS AS WE MOVE TOWARD A PERMANENT LICENSING PROGRAM NEXT YEAR TO IDENTIFY AND EXPAND VALUE-ADDED HEMP PROCESSING AND NEW MARKET PROSPECTS.”
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In a lawsuit served this week to the Michigan Board of Pharmacy and its chairwoman, Nichole Cover, the plaintiffs claim the current law that issues medical marijuana cards to patients and licenses dispensaries is contradictory to the state’s Controlled Substance Act that classifies the drug as contraband. Because of that, they say its status violates their due process and equal protection rights and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.
“It’s not a Schedule 1 drug,” Sinclair told The Detroit News. “It’s been legalized by the citizens and approved by the state. There are thousands that take it and licenses to sell marijuana. That’s why it needs to be corrected in my opinion.”
A Schedule 1 classification refers to substances that have no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. It includes drugs such as heroin and ecstasy. The Michigan Board of Pharmacy determines the scheduling.
The lawsuit focus on the 2016 Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act in which the state legislature granted the state permission to license marijuana businesses. The state Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Department’s Medical Marihuana Licensing Board began issuing licenses for businesses to grow, process, transport and sell medical marijuana last spring.
As a result, the plaintiffs that include medical patient Josey Scoggin, physician Dr. Christian Bogner, pharmacist Paul Littler, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws of Michigan Inc. and theMichigan Medical Marijuana Associationclaim marijuana’s Schedule 1 listing is repealed by implication.
Michael Komorn, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, stated: “This is not a controlled substance.” He added “The idea that someone would be growing an opioid … and bringing it to a pharmacy because they were running low on their meds is the scenario that would have to exist in order for marijuana to remain as a scheduled drug.”
Poet and activist John Sinclair has been a cannabis activist in Michigan for more than 50 years. He stated: “For 80 years they’ve been locking people up and taking their possessions and harassing and terrorizing us as citizens because we like to smoke weed,” adding “I want to be part of every effort to completely remove the police from our lives regarding marijuana. They’ve got nothing at all to do with marijuana.”
The lawsuit argues that Michigan laws recognize the medical benefits of marijuana, and yet the Michigan Board of Pharmacy continues to list marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug — a designation that means it has no accepted medical benefits and has a high potential for abuse.
“The Michigan Department of Attorney General is in the process of reviewing and preparing a response to the complaint,” according to a statement from spokeswoman Kelly Rossman-McKinney.
The “absurdity” of the legal conflict between theMedical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Actand the Public Health Code has to be addressed, said Michael Komorn, one of the attorneys behind the case.
“It’s intellectually dishonest,” Michael Komorn ofKomorn Lawsaid.
The Michigan Supreme Court in 1972 noted in the opinion that overturned Sinclair’s conviction that “not only that there is no rational basis for classifying marijuana with the ‘hard narcotics’, but, also, that there is not even a rational basis for treating marijuana as a more dangerous drug than alcohol.”
Federally, marijuana remains listed as a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance and its use remains illegal. The U.S. Attorney General’s office has declined to prosecute states or businesses that have launched medical and recreational marijuana programs. President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Bill Barr, has said he’ll continue that approach — but believes overarching change is needed.
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Stores throughout Ohio continue to sell cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD, months after the state’s board of pharmacy ruled that the cannabis extract can only be sold in medical marijuana dispensaries.
CBD has something of a cult following, and its users believe it can treat a variety of conditions.
The pharmacy board cited the Ohio Revised Code in its August decision, which defines marijuana as any product derived from cannabis.
But CBD distributors say they believe the pharmacy board overstepped its boundaries, and that selling CBD is legal.
Lucky’s Market in Clintonville and several Fresh Thyme locations throughout the state still have special sections for CBD oils. And the Columbus Botanical Depot, a boutique shop in Clintonville, sells CBD products almost exclusively.
Josh Hendrix, president of hemp production for San Diego-based CBD distributor CV Sciences, said the company’s products are protected under federal law because they come from hemp. The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp, which is derived from cannabis and lacks the intoxicating effects of marijuana, from a list of controlled substances and defined it as a commodity, opening the door for states to legalize it. Ohio has yet to do so.
“There is no list of controlled substance that includes CBD,” Hendrix said. “It’s a naturally occurring compound within a legal plant.”
Hendrix said that his company has educated lawmakers and law enforcement officials on CBD in other states, and has helped change laws in states like Indiana.
An effort is afoot to legalize CBD in Ohio.
Senate Bill 57, which was recently passed by the Ohio Senate, would legalize hemp and give retailers the right to sell CBD.
Enforcement of the current law is left to the Ohio Department of Agriculture, which responds to complaints, director Dorothy Pelanda said.
In January, the department embargoed a CBD oil sold by Jungle Jim’s International Market at their Fairfield and Cincinnati locations after the owner of a different store asked the state if he could legally offer the product, Pelanda said. Agency employees banned the oil because they were unable to determine its origin, she said. The grocery store removed the oil from its shelves.
Representatives of Jungle Jim’s did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Pelanda said she wasn’t aware of any other complaints regarding CBD.
Grove City police told Midwest Vapors, a Stringtown Road vape shop, to remove CBD products from its shelves in April. Grove City police Lt. Doug Olmstead said officers spotted the CBD during a routine check.
Retailers say they continue to sell the products because it helps their customers. The benefits of CBD, however, are disputed.
Employees of the Columbus Botanical Depot tell customers that CBD will treat everything from anxiety, to trouble sleeping, to ADHD.
“We’re not doctors and we can’t make a diagnosis, but we can speak to our experiences and the experience of our customers,” General Manager Max Kamer said.
CV Sciences, which distributes the CBD products found on store shelves in Ohio, sells their product as a dietary supplement rather than a drug, which means they can’t make any claims about its health benefits. But Hendrix said that customers use CBD to treat a variety of conditions.
Researchers say claims about the medicinal qualities of CBD are at best premature.
The FDA has approved the CBD-based drug Epidiolex to treat seizures in rare forms of childhood epilepsy, and limited studies suggest other benefits.
“But we really still do not know where CBD can be helpful outside of seizures,” said Anup Patel, section chief of neurology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. His research aided the approval of Epidiolex. “There is not well-done scientific literature showing the benefits of CBD for conditions other than epilepsy,” he said.
Patel hopes that the approval of Epidiolex will open the doors for further study.
In the meantime, “I would ask the public to proceed cautiously, and not accept every claim without rigorous scientific evidence backing it up,” Patel said.
The perceived benefits of CBD could be a placebo effect, said Dr. Robert Carson, an assistant professor of neurology and pediatrics at Vanderbilt, who holds both a medical degree and a PhD. It isn’t a bad thing if someone uses CBD oils and it makes them feel better, he said.
“But in virtually every situation,” it’s best to take the proven medication, Carson said.
Dr. Daniel Neides, president and CEO of the Northeast Ohio health clinic Inspire Wellness, is a rare doctor who recommends CBD, saying his patients report symptoms of chronic pain and anxiety improving with its use. Neides acknowledged that their experiences are largely anecdotal, but said his plethora of anecdotes must indicate some beneficial qualities.
