Medical marijuana grower Green Peaks Innovations planned a Wednesday rally to launch a 30-day campaign urging the State of Michigan to crack down on unlicensed cannabis businesses.
"It's resulted in unsafe, untested and, quite frankly, illegal products,” CEO Jeff Radway said.
What To Know
Hampered by lawsuits, Michigan has been slow to roll out its licensing program. Last month, the Michigan Court of Claims issued a temporary restraining order that bought unlicensed dispensaries a bit more time. Judge Stephen Borrello blocked enforcement of Michigan’s March 31 shutdown deadline.
Borrello is expected to decide as soon as Friday whether unlicensed establishments can remain open and not suffer penalty when they formally apply for licenses.
“Enough is enough,” Radway said. “Michigan’s patients deserve tested and safe cannabis.”
Why It's Important
Green Peaks has already suffered from the arrangement. The company has had difficulty selling this year’s cannabis batch since licensed distributors can buy more cheaply from unlicensed cultivators.
“The state mandated that we go through their rigorous and extensive licensing process,” Green Peaks Executive Vice President Joe Neller said. “We then hired over 170 people and built a fully operational 60,000-square-foot state-of-the-art headquarters facility in Windsor Township so our quality product could be grown in a clean, contaminant-free environment. Now, they are allowing untested product from caregivers to be sold to patients and that is totally unacceptable.”
If the state shutters unlicensed operations, Green Peaks estimates it could immediately sell 2,000 pounds to licensed channels.
What's Next
In the meantime, it’s a hard market to operate in, and Green Peaks has a lot to lose. The firm plans to double the size of its 60,000-square-foot facility in Windsor Township and create more than 1,000 jobs in Michigan.
Fortunately for Radway, he has some allies in Lansing. The House of Representatives passed a bill last week requiring unlicensed dispensaries to shut down by June 1.
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