Michigan Begins Accepting Recreational Marijuana Business Applications Friday

Michigan's Marijuana Regulatory Agency will start accepting adult-use marijuana business applications in Michigan on Nov. 1.

Want to hear exclusive updates on the adult-use licensing process? Check out the next meetup with MRA Executive Director, Andrew Brisbo on Dec. 18 at the Benzinga Headquarters! Get your tickets here before they sell out! 

The agency plans to issue the first recreational licenses to businesses that are already licensed to cultivate, distribute, process, test or transport medical marijuana by late November, said agency spokesman David Harns, according to MLive.

Adult-use cannabis consumers in Michigan will have to be patient for a few more months, as there are no growers with recreational licenses and no supply of legal recreational marijuana at this time. 

With the growing cycle taking several months, and processing, producing and packaging requiring time as well, it will be a while while before Michiganders can shop for and buy cannabis for recreational use.

The state legalized recreational marijuana via a ballot initiative in November 2018. 

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“If the state takes all of the 90 days afforded to them by law to review our application and grant us a license, then we could start producing that adult-use product,” Joe Neller, chief government affairs office and co-founder at Green Peak Innovations, told MLive. 

"It does appear the state is going to make us begin those plants basically from seed or clone, so that would take another six months to grow the product, harvest it, pass testing, package it up and get it into market, so anywhere from six to nine months from Nov. 1 is how we’re modeling it."

Those who obtain approval will have to pay licensing and renewal fees in a range from $1,000 to $40,000 depending on the type of business.

Applicants must also have a $100,000 liability and bodily injury insurance policy.

The license types to be issues include:

• Microbusiness
• Class A grower
• Class B grower
• Class C grower
• Processor
• Retailer
• Event organizer
• Temporary event license
• Safety compliance facility
• Secure transporter
• Consumption establishment
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