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On this episode of Let’s be Blunt, Montel talks with writer, art curator and cannabis advocate, Mark Braunstein. Mark smokes canna daily to control pain and spasms due to a spinal cord injury that rendered him partially paralyzed. He has testified before committees of the Connecticut legislature seven times over 14 years, urging passage of bills to legalize medical canna. His sixth and most recent book, Mindful Marijuana Smoking: Health Tips for Cannabis Smokers, was published in 2022.

On this episode of Let’s Be Blunt, Montel speaks with Valentina Valentine, owner of Synchronicity Holistic, an elevated dispensary catering to senior women. Valentina was a successful commercial real estate agent and mother when a medical diagnosis forever changed her life. In 1989, after suffering from symptoms that were first thought to be a brain tumor, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. She refused to let the diagnosis define her and set about to learn everything she could about the disease and treatment options.

Montel talks with Winston McCauley on this episode of Let’s Be Blunt. Winston holds a Master’s in Business Administration from St. Xavier University with a concentration in Project Management and a Bachelor's Degree in Management and Information Technology from Aurora University. He has served as an adjunct professor at City Colleges of Chicago. He is also a member of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DEIC) and Co-chair of the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois (CBAI) Minority Access Committee (MAC). He is an entrepreneur and social justice advocate focused on facilitating opportunities and climate for underrepresented and historically marginalized communities and is the CEO of Winter Haze Cannabis in IL.

Under the new administrative rules for the MMFLA there is a specific section that addresses the transition period for MMFLA license holders. Rule 20 (included below) specifically references a transition period of 30 days in which marihuana products can be entered into the statewide monitoring system from the time a license is issued. Rule 20. Transition period. (1) To ensure the safety, security, and integrity of the operation of marihuana facilities, there is a transition period consisting of 30 calendar days during which marihuana product can be entered into the statewide monitoring system to ensure statewide tracking beginning on the day a state operating license is issued to a licensee for the first time except for additional licenses issued to the same license holder for a stacked license after a first license is issued. (2) Within the 30-calendar-day period, a licensee shall do all of the following: (a) Record all marihuana product in the statewide monitoring system during this 30-calendar-day period as prescribed by the act and these rules. (b)Tag or package all inventory that has been identified in the statewide monitoring system as prescribed by the act and these rules. (c) Comply with all testing requirements as prescribed by the act and these rules. (3) After the 30-calendar-day period, any marihuana product that has not been identified in the statewide monitoring system under these rules and the act is prohibited from being onsite at a marihuana facility. (4) A violation of this rule may result in sanctions or fines, or both. (5) At any time during this 30-calendar-day period and thereafter, a marihuana facility is subject to an inspection under Rule 16. Does this mean that any outside products (most likely produced by caregivers; plants, concentrates, and flower) would be allowed to be transitioned into the licensing system as long as they are tagged and meet testing requirements? This would be extremely beneficial to the transition to ensure that there is an uninterrupted supply of marihuana to patients, who rely upon dispensaries. Individuals applying for licenses or involved with such entities should still proceed with extreme caution as this rule does not legalize transfers of plants, concentrates, or flower from one caregiver to another or from a caregiver to a license holder and admitting to possession of a larger amount than 1 caregiver is allowed to carry at once or admitting to receiving a transfer from a caregiver may be incriminatory on both the license holder and the caregiver. The question that still remains is that when an individual at a facility identifies 1,500 fully grown plants in their facility 1 day after receiving a license, is the state going to want to know where that came from? Given the fact that caregivers are given a 5 day window to relinquish their caregiver status once approved for licensing and license holders are allowed a 30 day window to tag and test all items into the seed to sale tracking software, the question of what a transitioning caregiver should do is definitely a question to consider. See below link for entire administrative rules: http://komornlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Emergency_Rules_Medical_Marihuana_Facilities_Licensing_Act_607643_7.pdf Follow this thread as more insight and commentary will be provided daily on the emergency administrative rules and other rulings in relation to the MMFLA.

Below I have attached a link to all of the administrative rules that were released by LARA in relation to the MMFLA. This definitely provides some clarity and insight into what potential license applicants can expect through the process, while operating their facilities, and in their interactions with the state. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/opt/Emergency_Rules_Medical_Marihuana_Facilities_Licensing_Act_607643_7.pdf