Clone Distributor

[Restorium2]

Means that none of the centers think they need secure transporters. 

[blackhorse]

On ‎3‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 7:26 AM, Restorium2 said:

Means that none of the centers think they need secure transporters. 

More money to be made with grow, provisioning center, compliance center, or processing center.

Too expensive to become a transporter?

 

[Restorium2]

I'm thinking that you only need a transporter license if you are a separate entity than the grower and retailer. Seems like everyone has a plan around having a separate licensed transporter. Just doing their own deliveries. 

[semicaregiver]

1 hour ago, Restorium2 said:

I'm thinking that you only need a transporter license if you are a separate entity than the grower and retailer. Seems like everyone has a plan around having a separate licensed transporter. Just doing their own deliveries. 

Interesting theory.    This ended up being an issue in Nevada.  When sales were suppose to start no one had applied for a transporter license.

I have not spent a lot of time reading the commercial laws.  Can you hold a grow license and a transporter one?

[Restorium2]

In Colorado they didn't have any distributors until after the program was implemented. The growers and retailers just worked together as you would expect without any middlemen transporters. I know for a fact that the local grower and retailer are affiliated closely. And since they didn't apply for a transporter license it's easy to see that they didn't think they needed one. These same folks hold a lot of the liquor licenses in the same area. They also own a lot of restaurants and other businesses. Very powerful. 

[shishka]

1 hour ago, semicaregiver said:

Interesting theory.    This ended up being an issue in Nevada.  When sales were suppose to start no one had applied for a transporter license.

I have not spent a lot of time reading the commercial laws.  Can you hold a grow license and a transporter one?

No, you can only hold grower, processing and retail collectively. Transport and testing are only allowed to hold the one.

Edited March 5, 2018 by shishka

[blackhorse]

Anything moved from a grower to a processor or provisioning center is required to use a transporter.

A grower who also has a processor attached in building does not have to use the transporter.

Is the transporter license cost same as processor license?

[Restorium2]

10 hours ago, blackhorse said:

Anything moved from a grower to a processor or provisioning center is required to use a transporter.

A grower who also has a processor attached in building does not have to use the transporter.

Is the transporter license cost same as processor license?

Quote

LARA is currently determining the annual regulatory assessment for fiscal year 2018 for each of the five license categories authorized by MMFLA. Grower A licenses are capped, by statute, at $10,000. Grower B-C, Processor, Transporter, and Provisioning Center licenses will be dependent on the number of total licenses subject to assessment and could be as low as $10,000 or as high as $57,000. The exact amounts of the regulatory assessments are not available at this time.

 

[Restorium2]

On ‎3‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 5:40 PM, semicaregiver said:

According to an interview Brisbo gave on Monday, no one has applied for a secure transporter license yet.

Probably false information because it makes no sense. I know of a group of investors that have their grow and store separate. And they are not the types to leave out a detail like transporting. Maybe they have worked something out with BMMR for some alternate transport emergency rules. 

Edited March 6, 2018 by Restorium2

[Highlander]

On 2/27/2018 at 11:54 AM, Restorium2 said:

Currently as the MMMA law stands, a patient may only transfer to his/her registered connected caregiver.

A patient can transfer to a caregiver? In what circumstances? 

For the sake of discussion - say I'm a patient with a caregiver who grows for me.  Through whatever circumstance, I find someone willing to sell me 5 oz. at a discounted price.  I buy 2.5 oz. and transfer it to my caregiver to hold for me later, as he is legal to have 2.5 for me.  Then I go back and buy another 2.5.  

Do you think this is a reasonable scenario for a patient to transfer to a CG under Section 4 protections?

[Highlander]

On 2/27/2018 at 11:54 AM, Restorium2 said:

Currently as the MMMA law stands, a patient may only transfer to his/her registered connected caregiver.

A patient can transfer to a caregiver? In what circumstances? 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2018 by Highlander
Double post deleted

[Restorium2]

12 hours ago, Highlander said:

For the sake of discussion - say I'm a patient with a caregiver who grows for me.  Through whatever circumstance, I find someone willing to sell me 5 oz. at a discounted price.  I buy 2.5 oz. and transfer it to my caregiver to hold for me later, as he is legal to have 2.5 for me.  Then I go back and buy another 2.5.  

Do you think this is a reasonable scenario for a patient to transfer to a CG under Section 4 protections?

Seems fine when you frame it like that. But if this is going on where it is easily seen happening over and over it's going to look like a distribution chain and not a stockpiling for just the one qualified patient. The patient could look like a mule using a card to supply others who don't qualify medically. 

[Restorium2]

19 hours ago, zapatosunidos said:

Oakland Press is reporting three applicants for transport: http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20180227/state-reports-163-applicants-for-marijuana-facility-licensing

 

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has released the latest figures showing the number of medical marijuana licensing applications.

Here are the totals as of Feb. 23, eight days after the deadline for applicants operating temporarily with local authorization::

• 331: Applicants who’ve paid the $6,000 application fee

• 163: Applications for operating licenses

Breakdown for operating license applications::

• Grower A (up to 500 plants per license): 14

• Grower B (up to 1,000 plants per license): 3

• Grower C (up to 1,500 plants per license): 45

• Processor: 29

• Provisioning Center: 65

• Secure Transporter: 3

• Safety Compliance Facility: 4

 

Operating licenses are expected to be issued beginning in April.

Ah, maybe some product at the outlets around the 4th of July if they have a decent plant manager.  I could pull it off. After working with multiples of 12, 1500 plants seems like heaven. Can't help but dream up a plan that would utilize the situation to the maximum potential. 

[shishka]

Don't forget about temporary operating permits.

Shops already have product on their shops and some growers already have their temporary operating permit.

Its going to be a slow sloppy rollout I feel with caregivers needed to fill shops for a while this summer.

[Restorium2]

Medical marijuana dispensaries start opening across Bay County

Updated Feb 26; Posted Feb 23

Roots Dispensaries open in Bangor Township

 

 

 

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Gallery: Roots Dispensaries open in Bangor Township

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By Cole Waterman

cwaterma@mlive.com

BANGOR TWP, MI -- Take a drive down Wilder Road and you might notice green crosses popping up on buildings: The medical marijuana industry is officially open for business in Bay County.

As the state continues to process hundreds of applications required for its Medical Marihuana Facilities Act -- a new law that aims to regulate what's believed to be an $837 million industry in the state -- some retailers in Bay County have opened provisioning centers, also known as dispensaries, early under the state's emergency rules and are serving a growing number of patients.

A dispensary called Hydra Elevated Wellness opened at 4373 Wilder Road after the new year.

And then husband-and-wife duo Jason and Angie Dabrowski opened their first location of Roots Dispensaries at 3557 Wilder Road on Jan. 19. Inside the spacious location, display cases feature jars of marijuana flowers, inhalers, cannabis oil, ointments, and medibles, such as brownies and suckers.

From day one, business has been booming.

"It was exciting," said Angie Dabrowski of their first day. "We had people from Traverse City, Flint, the Thumb, Sebewaing."

Patronage has only increased since then, with her husband estimating 90 to 120 people visit the shop each day.

"Forty percent of them I would say are new customers -- first-time visits," Jason said.

The shop opened under the state's emergency rules that allow dispensaries to open early while their license is still being processed. During that period, they can only obtain their medical marijuana from various state-licensed growers. Dispensaries can start purchasing product from large commercial growing operations after the state approves those permits.

Bangor Township Supervisor Glenn Rowley, who has been a proponent of municipalities opening their doors for the medical marijuana industry, said he had concerns with the emergency rules because the product isn't being regulated as outlined in the new state law.

"They are essentially moving product that hasn't been tested," he said. "But I do understand that there are people out there who have the cards and they need to get their prescription filled. That's why the state did it."

Rowley added it was a relief to see that the Dabrowskis are running a business that looks professional and legitimate.

"The last thing you want is some business opening up early with a card table and a cash register," he said. "Luckily, these people did it right and that makes me feel really good."

The Dabrowskis, both Essexville natives who have lived in Bangor Township for 10 years, said they got into the medical marijuana industry in part as a response to the nation's ongoing opioid epidemic. They say medical marijuana is a safer alternative to prescription opiate medication that can lead users to addictions and overdoses.

Police and health officials have attributed the rise in heroin use and overdose deaths to people gravitating from prescription painkillers such as OxyContin or Vicodin. Heroin is cheaper than those substances and easier to ingest since pharmaceutical manufacturers changed their pills' composition so they can no longer be snorted or melted down and injected.

"The medical marijuana industry is kind of taking the place of those prescription medications," Angie Dabrowski said. "We thought it would be helpful to society."

The state Supreme Court in 2013 ruled dispensaries were illegal under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, but lawmakers in 2016 passed legislation to legalize and regulate them. The state's Medical Marihuana Licensing Board began accepting applications for medical marijuana facilities on Dec. 15.

Since then, several municipalities across Bay County have opted in, including Bay City, Pinconning Township, and Kawkawlin Township.

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Prior to the change, the law mandated all patients had to grow their own marijuana or acquire it from a primary caregiver. Caregivers could assist no more than five patients, who could compensate them with donations.

Dispensaries like Roots, though, can now set prices for their product. Roots offers a 10 percent discount for veterans and have a customer loyalty program, whereby patrons earn 6 cents for every dollar they spend.

When customers visit Roots, they're greeted by a receptionist, who inspects their medical marijuana card and matches it with a state ID. If customers' credentials are valid, they proceed to one-on-one consultations with the staff, or patient care representatives. The customers share their symptoms -- be it pain, nausea or epilepsy -- and their needs with the staff, who help them select the best product for them.

"We have specific medications -- (some) with no psychoactive effects," Jason Dabrowski said.

The Dabrowskis have plans to expand their business with a second dispensary location on Marquette Street in Bay City, which would be attached to a 1,500-plant growing operation that they would also own and operate.

Roots currently has 10 employees. The Dabrowskis anticipate hiring up to 40 more once they expand.

Rowley said the township has awarded all 15 of its provisioning center permits, which allow recipients to then apply for a state license. There is a waiting list of eight or nine applicants beyond those 15, Rowley said. Each of those permits require an annual, nonrefundable $5,000 fee paid to the governing municipality.

In Pinconning Township, they've maxed out their 10 available licenses for dispensaries and are offering unlimited grower licenses.

 

Edited March 7, 2018 by Restorium2

[semicaregiver]

On 3/2/2018 at 7:26 AM, Restorium2 said:

"The shop opened under the state's emergency rules that allow dispensaries to open early while their license is still being processed. During that period, they can only obtain their medical marijuana from various state-licensed growers. Dispensaries can start purchasing product from large commercial growing operations after the state approves those permits."

This is an interesting quote from the newspaper.    Up until the 1st of this year I followed the rulings coming out of the BMMR and I don't recall any emergency rules about folks opening "early".   There were pronouncements about dispensaries that were already operating under local approval, i.e. Ann Arbor, but nothing about new ones.   There was also no announcements from BMMR about where the existing dispensaries were to get their inventory.   The quote seems to suggest that patients and caregivers could sell to these new dispensaries until the commercial growers come online.

[shishka]

And the gray market goes round and round.

I don't believe there has been any official announcement as to where these shops are to get product but everyone including the bmmr knows it coming from caregivers just as it has for years. Don't ask don't tell.

[Restorium2]

Just remember when you are selling to a dispensary you aren't a patient or a caregiver. Don't make the mistake of thinking that what you are doing is part of the Act. I've seen folks go to jail thinking that. Be very careful.