Hurry! The deadline to apply is September 5th!
EAST LANSING- The state of Michigan wants to hear your thoughts on the development of licensing programs for the new Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act- and they want your participation, too.
A press release was issued on August 22 from the Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation, a division of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. It followed through on a promise made by Colleen Curtis, an Assistant Director at LARA, who spoke on August 21 during the Licensing Board’s second public meeting.
The title and language contained within Michigan legislation, including the MMFLA, uses the dead-language spelling of marijuana, which features an ‘H’ instead of a ‘J’.
Curtis delivered an update on the creation of the Administrative Rules and Facilities Workgroups. She announced the creation of workgroups to advise the BMMR and the Licensing Board on the parameters needed to satisfy the business requirements of each of the five named industries, as outlined in the MMFLA.
Those five industries are: medical marijuana distribution, processing, transportation, cultivation and testing.
Each workgroup will take one business type as their exclusive focus. Each workgroup will be paired with one of the five Licensing Board members.
Workgroups will be composed of citizens and experts. To apply to be on one of the workgroups, follow the instructions contained in the press release details below.
LARA Seeks Participants for Medical Marihuana Stakeholder Workgroups
August 22, 2017 – LARA’s Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation (BMMR) is facilitating five stakeholder work groups to discuss and provide suggestions on regulatory topics related to the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA). The work groups are:
- a)Grower
- b)Processor
- c)Safety Compliance Facility
- d)Provisioning Center
- e)Secure Transporter
Individuals interested in participating in a work group must send an email to LARA-MedicalMarihuana@michigan.gov. Work group requests must have WORK GROUP in the subject line. Requests and inquiries made via telephone or to other bureau contacts may not be accepted.
In order to be considered to sit on a work group panel, the interested individual’s email must contain the information listed below.
- The name of the individual interested in participating and his or her contact information including mailing address, email address and phone number.
- Which one of the five work groups the individual would like to participate in.
- The individual’s occupation, job title, and employer or organization.
- A brief explanation of no more than 150 words detailing the individual’s qualifications for inclusion in the stakeholder work group. No attachments should be included.
The bureau will consider all email applications that meet these requirements, and any additional relevant information when establishing the stakeholder work groups.
The deadline to email requests to participate in a work group is Tuesday, September 5, 2017 by 9:00 AM. Selections for the work groups and the public announcements will be made by Tuesday, September 12, 2017.
The workgroups will gather information only and will not interfere with the authority of the Medical Marihuana Licensing Board or Advisory Panel procedures as provided under the MMFLA. LARA is in the process of starting the formal rulemaking process pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act of 1969. To that end, the purpose of the work groups is to seek input on the regulatory topics. Regardless of participation in the workgroups, all interested members of the public will be able to participate in the permanent rulemaking process that includes public comment, hearing notices and draft rules that will be published for review and comment.
For more information, visit the BMMR webpage at www.michigan.gov/medicalmarihuana
Board Chairman Rick Johnson announced the workgroup assignments for each of the Board members. Assigned to the workgroup on distribution: former Michigan State Police sergeant Don Bailey, a vocal dispensary foe and advocate of a ‘scorched earth’ policy involving the shuttering of all businesses currently serving patients in the state.
