After September 15, Can I Still be a Caregiver?

The Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation is standing firm on their stance that all cannabis facilities that are not licensed by the State under the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, will need to close down, and will receive a cease and desist letter at that time. While the facilities are not mandated to shut down, the State Bureau of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has explained that any center that continues to run after receipt of the cease and desist will likely not be given a license. Further, the State has stated recommended Final Rules concerning Medical Marihuana Facilities licensing, which is going to enable or registered qualifying patients to get home deliveries from provisioning centers (with limitation, naturally) and also will certainly likewise permit online buying. So, where does that leave registered caregivers, that were expecting to be able to remain relevant to their clients up until 2021?

Traditional

The old for registered caregivers was quite straightforward. You were allowed to grow up to twelve plants for each patient. You could have five patients, apart from yourself. If the caregiver was also a client, they could also cultivate twelve plants for individual usage also. So, a caregiver could grow a total of seventy-two marihuana plants. The majority of caregivers created far more usable marihuana from those plants than they could utilize for clients and personal usage. The caregivers would then sell their excess product to medical marihuana dispensaries.

Under the emergency rules, marihuana dispensaries that were operating with municipal approval, but that had actually not obtained a State license were allowed to continue running and also purchasing from registered caregivers. Those facilities were permitted to get caregiver overages for thirty days after getting their State license for stock. That suggested significant earnings for caregivers and significant supply for dispensaries.

After September 15, 2018

The troubles for registered caregivers only begins on September 15, 2018. All State licensed facilities that will stay open and operating can not buy any product from caregivers. State Licensed Provisioning Centers, but statute and administrative rules are strictly forbidden from acquiring or offering any type of product that is not generated by a State Licensed Cultivator or Processor that has actually had their product tested and certified by a State Licensed Safety Compliance Facility. Any State Licensed Provisioning Center that is found to have product for sale that is not from a State Licensed Cultivator or Processor is subject to State sanctions on their license, including temporary or irreversible abrogation of the license. Given the risk, licensed facilities are very unlikely to risk purchasing from a caregiver, offered the prospective consequences.

Further, the unlicensed centers to whom caregivers have been continuing to market to, even during the licensing process, will be shutting down. Some might continue to run, but given the State's stance on facilities that do not abide by their cease and desist letters being looked at very unfavorably in the licensing process, the market will be drastically lessened, if not eliminated. Because of this, caregivers will certainly not have much choice for selling their overages, as well as will certainly be restricted only to their existing clients.

New Administrative Rules

A hearing will be held on September 17, 2018 regarding the brand-new proposed final administrative rules for the regulation of medical marihuana facilities, which will become effective in November, when the emergency rules discontinue being effective. Those final suggested administrative rules allow for home delivery by a provisioning center, and will additionally permit managed online buying. Those two things eliminate much of the role contemplated by caregivers under the new policies. Patients would still require them to go to the provisioning center to grab and deliver cannabis to patients that were too sick or who were impaired and can not reach those licensed facilities to get their medical cannabis. With this adjustment to the administrative rules, such clients will no longer need a caregiver. They will have the ability to place an order online and have the provisioning facility deliver it to them, essentially eliminating the requirement of a caregiver.

Verdict

For better or worse, the State is doing everything it can to eliminate caregivers under the new administrative system, even before the intended elimination 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 getting rid of the caregiver , and they are moving that process along with celerity. The State is sending the message that they desire caregivers out of the market asap, and they are developing rules to make certain that takes place sooner rather than later. The caregiver model, while useful and essential under the old Michigan Medical Marihuana Act structure, are now going the way of the Dodo. Like everything else, the Marihuana laws are evolving, and some things that have flourished in the past, won't make it to see the new legalized era.