After September 15, Can I Still be a Caregiver?

The Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation is persevering on their stance that all cannabis centers that are not licensed by the State under the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, will need to close down, and will get 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 made clear that any facility that continues to run after receipt of the cease and desist will very likely not be granted a license. Further, the State has stated recommended Final Rules regarding Medical Marihuana Facilities licensing, which is going to permit or registered qualifying clients to obtain house deliveries from provisioning centers (with restriction, naturally) as well as will additionally permit online ordering. So, where does that leave registered caregivers, that were expecting to be able to continue to be relevant to their patients up until 2021?

Traditional Model

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

Under the emergency rules, marihuana dispensaries that were running with municipal authorization, but that had not received a State license were permitted to proceed operating and also purchasing from registered caregivers. Those centers were permitted to acquire caregiver excess for thirty days after obtaining their State license for stock. That implied significant revenues for caregivers as well as significant supply for dispensaries.

After September 15, 2018

The issues for registered caregivers only begins on September 15, 2018. All State licensed centers that will continue to be open and operating can not buy any type of product from caregivers. State Licensed Provisioning Centers, but statute and administrative rules are strictly prohibited from acquiring or selling any product that is not produced by a State Licensed Grower or Processor that has had their product tested and certified by a State Licensed Safety Compliance Facility. Any State Licensed Provisioning Center that is discovered to have product available that is not from a State Licensed Cultivator or Processor is subject to State sanctions on their license, consisting of temporary or irreversible cancellation of the license. Given the risk, licensed centers are really unlikely to run the risk of buying from a caregiver, given the potential repercussions.

Further, the unlicensed facilities to whom caregivers have been continuing to market to, even during the licensing procedure, will certainly be closing down. Some might continue to operate, but given the State's stance on facilities that do not adhere to their cease and desist letters being looked at very unfavorably in the licensing process, the market will be seriously lessened, if not eliminated. As a result, caregivers will not have much choice for selling their overages, as well as will certainly be limited only to their current clients.

New Administrative Rules

A hearing will be held on September 17, 2018 regarding the new recommended final administrative rules for the regulation of medical marihuana facilities, which will become effective in November, when the emergency rules stop being effective. Those final proposed administrative rules allow for home delivery by a provisioning center, and will additionally allow regulated online purchasing. Those two things eliminate much of the role contemplated by caregivers under the brand-new policies. Patients would certainly still require them to visit the provisioning facility to grab and deliver marijuana to clients that were too sick or who were handicapped and could not get to those licensed centers to obtain their medicinal cannabis. With this change to the administrative rules, such clients will no longer require a caregiver. They will have the ability to place an order online and have the provisioning facility deliver it to them, basically removing the necessity of a caregiver.

Conclusion

For better or worse, the State is doing everything it can to get rid of caregivers under the new administrative scheme, even prior to the intended elimination in 2021 contemplated by the MMFLA. There are a great deal of reasons the State could be doing it, but that is of little comfort to caregivers. The bottom line is, the State is eliminating the caregiver , and they are moving that process along with celerity. The State is sending the message that they desire caregivers out of the industry immediately, and they are developing policies to guarantee that occurs sooner rather than later. The caregiver model, while helpful and required 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.