The Medical Marihuana Licensing Board will approve a facility’s license application on case by case basis and will not set a limit on the number of licenses. A facility must be located in a municipality that has an ordinance authorizing that type of facility before being approved by the state. A local municipality may place a limit on the number of licenses authorized. Any local ordinance currently in place would have to meet all the criteria required under the new state laws and regulatory framework to be utilized going forward. Understanding the passionate interest from many parties in the licensing process, BMMR and the Board want to provide as much opportunity for input and communication as possible. • Board meetings are being scheduled regularly to give the public direct access to provide opinions and information to the bureau and the board. • Work groups are being established to provide the opportunity for information to be gathered and discussion held regarding specific topics for the five licensed categories. • Road shows are being planned in November to provide demonstrations on utilizing the online application process and the statewide monitoring system. • An Email distribution list has been established in order to quickly convey important information to all interested parties. BMMR will also house the Michigan Medical Marihuana Program, the state patient and caregiver registry that currently contains more than 250,000 active patients and 40,000 active caregivers. The program administers the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act as approved by voters in 2008. BMMR’s organizational structure puts Michigan at the forefront of state medical marihuana regulation. Many other states have various licenses and patient programs spread throughout different departments and agencies. Our focus is to ensure patients are protected and the delivery of our services to licensees are fair and efficient. LARA will continue to share information as we complete the implementation of these new laws. “The Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act requires the bureau to make applications available by December 15, 2017.” - Andrew Brisbo LARA is committed to being open and transparent. To that end we thought it appropriate to share the current status as broadly as possible. With the passage of House Bills 4837, 4209 and 4210 in September of 2016 the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has been charged with the creation of a regulatory system for facilities that will cultivate, process, transport, test and sell medical marihuana to registered patients and caregivers. Michigan has positioned itself at the forefront of state medical marihuana regulation by centralizing all aspects of oversight into the Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation (BMMR). The bureau’s centralized services will enhance patient protections and make regulations more efficient for business customers by housing the application and enforcement functions for the new facilities program as well as the existing state patient and caregiver registry. As part of the implementation of the new statutory requirements, BMMR has selected the technology company Franwell, Inc. to administer the statewide monitoring system required by the Marihuana Tracking Act. The system will provide the bureau with detailed inventory information, track medical marihuana in all its forms from “seed to sale” and help ensure legal manufacturing, transportation and financial transaction of medical marihuana in Michigan. BMMR will also utilize the Citizen Access tool by Accela to facilitate easy and efficient online processing for applicants. The Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act requires the bureau to make applications available by December 15, 2017. FOR MORE INFORMATION, WWW.MICHIGAN.GOV/MEDICALMARIHUANA The Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation uses the spelling “marihuana” in lieu of “marijuana” to correspond with the statutory spelling in Michigan law.