PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AMID CONTROVERSY, MARIJUANA CONFERENCE BRINGS LARA DIRECTOR AND HOUSE REP TO ANN ARBOR OCTOBER 15
Raids on dispensaries rising statewide; LARA Director Edgerton and House Rep Rabhi to address future of marijuana distribution in Michigan during MICBD Conference
October 6, 2017
ANN ARBOR- Two of the most influential people shaping the future of medical marijuana distribution in Michigan will share a stage during the MICBD Conference on October 15 at the Kensington Hotel in Ann Arbor. The Conference comes at a unique time when state administrators are debating dispensary rules while police are raiding dispensaries statewide, bringing hundreds to past MMFLA meetings in protest.
The MMFLA Application Primer and Participant Conference will guide current businesses and hopeful entrepreneurs through the process of applying for and becoming part of Michigan’s new billion-dollar marijuana market. Business application will be accepted beginning on December 15; the Conference represents one of the final meetings for the industry prior to the application turn-in.
Speaking at the conference will be LARA Director Edgerton; Rep. Yousef Rabhi (D-Ann Arbor), who has sponsored a bill relative to the process; Lansing lobbyist Justin Dunaskiss of Dunaskiss Consulting and Development, who helped craft the language of the MMFLA; Ann Arbor business attorney Allison Ireton; and others.
Rules are being crafted for Michigan’s new MMFLA program under the watchful eye of the Director of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Shelly Edgerton. That program creates a replacement for the current unregulated medical marijuana market in Michigan, including a transition from the current dispensary industry into the new provisioning center system.
Director Edgerton has seemingly sidestepped efforts by MMFLA principals to order an immediate shutdown of all dispensaries. Acting independently, and perhaps in response to the Director’s effort, the Michigan State Police have ramped up raids against dispensaries statewide, including Traverse City and Atlanta. To halt the raids and ensure a smooth transition from the current market into the new business environment, Rep. Rabhi has introduced HB 4015, which would give certain existing businesses the ability to remain open and serve marijuana to registered patients during the transition time.
The Director and the Representative will take questions from the audience and media attendees. The event carries a $100 ticket price; media is welcome and is not required to RSVP. Video cameras are allowed. Rep. Rabhi speaks at 12:30, and the Director immediately follows him at 1pm. Refreshments will be served.
The Michigan Cannabis Business Development Group hosts informational seminars and conferences statewide; past events have been held in Lansing, Traverse City, Flint and Detroit. The October 15 Conference is sponsored by Intessa Certifications of Ann Arbor and the Cannabis Legal Group. Also sponsoring are Grow Green Cannabis Consulting, Jazz Cabbage Cafe and the Schultz Public Relations firm.
More information is available at www.micbd.com
Tickets can be purchased HERE.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Rick Thompson 586 350-8943 4mrick@gmail.com
Jamie Lowell 734 276-6318 jdlele@hotmail.com