Archive for month: October, 2022

Medical marijuana has been legal in the state of Michigan since back in 2008. Michigan completely changed the landscape for weed possession and consumption in 2018, though, when it became the 10th state in the U.S. to legalize it for recreational use.

Despite having 14 years of experience dealing with some form of legal marijuana, many of the rules and regulations regarding setting up weed dispensaries are still in the works. It’s an evolving process that is being completely managed by the state’s MRA, or Marijuana Regulatory Agency.

If you’re interested in obtaining a license to operate a weed dispensary in Michigan, read on below to find all important information for how you can do so.

What Do I Need to Start a Dispensary in Michigan?    

The first step in starting a dispensary in Michigan is getting prequalified. To do that, though, you have to decide what type of dispensary you want to open, since there are different laws and licenses that cover each type.

You can either open a provisioning center, which is a medical marijuana dispensary, or a recreational dispensary. Once you’ve made that decision, you can proceed with the prequalification process.

That process begins with an application submitted to the state’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. The process includes LARA conducting background checks on not only the primary applicant but also all supplemental applicants. The prequalification process also comes with a fee of $6,000, which must be paid before the MRA will even begin its work. 

If the applicants have been approved through prequalification, they will be allowed to search for a facility for their dispensary. The applicants must fully secure the facility and have it ready for operation before they can proceed to the second step of the application, which is applying for a full license. 

At this point in the process, the MRA will conduct a full inspection of the facility, as well as look into information about the municipality, employees and financial statements. 

If the applicant passes these inspections and meets all the requirements under the state’s Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act, they will be approved for a license. They must then pay the initial application fee, which will vary depending on the type of license they applied for. After the fee is paid, they’ll receive the license and be given the ability to operate.

How Long Does It Take to Open a Dispensary in Michigan?

The application process itself is quite long. You should expect to spend around six months getting through the prequalification period. The more complicated that a business is — and the more partners it has — the longer it may take to vet all the owners, for instance.

After prequalification is approved, it could take more than a year before you can even apply for a final license. That’s because you’ll need to find an existing facility or a prospective facility and build it out according to specifications, obtain the required municipal permits and approvals, recruit and hire employees, and go through the inspection process before you even get your final license.

In all, it’s reasonable to expect the entire process to take 12 to 24 months from the time you start the prequalification process to the time you receive your final license to operate.

How Do You Get a Micro Grow License in Michigan?

Michigan provides the opportunity for businesses to apply for what’s called a microbusiness license. This allows a company or person to grow as much as 150 cannabis plants, process them into products such as edibles and concentrates, package those products and then sell them to legal adults 21 years of age or older.

This is an option for people or companies who are interested in the cultivation and processing of marijuana into usable products that can then be sold directly to consumers. It’s can be a rewarding business model, as it’s fully integrated from top-down. 

Michigan law states that those who have a microbusiness license aren’t allowed to transfer or sell their products to other establishments. In other words, these microbusinesses have to sell their products directly to buyers.

To obtain a micro grow license in Michigan, you have to go through a similar prequalification application, followed by a license application for your facility. The application fee is $6,000, while the initial license fee is $8,000, with an annual renewal fee ranging from $6,000 to $10,000 based on the company’s gross retail sales.

Federal Law Regarding Weed Dispensary Licenses

Federal law has long declared that the sale, distribution or use of marijuana is illegal. The Controlled Substances Act, or CSA, codifies all current federal laws regarding drugs, which marijuana is considered. 

Marijuana is listed as a Schedule I controlled substance, lumping it into the category of other drugs with a high potential for being abused, that lack medical value and that can’t be prescribed by a doctor safely. As such, anyone who is caught marketing, distributing or growing marijuana is considered to be in violation of federal law.

Obviously, this federal law conflicts with many state laws, including those in Michigan. Because of this, though, it’s unlikely that any federal law enforcement agency will enforce those federal laws as long as the people in question don’t operate outside of a state where they are legally licensed to operate, as we’ll see in the next section.  However, even if you are approved by the State, you can still be held criminally liable by the federal government if they wish to pursue you.

State Law Regarding Weed Dispensary Licenses

Michigan is one of the state’s whose laws are in direct contrast to federal law. In Michigan, both medical marijuana and recreational marijuana are legal for certain people over the age of 21. In addition, it’s legal for people to apply for an obtain licenses to grow, process and sell marijuana for both medical and recreational purposes.

One often overlooked aspect of the state-federal conflict in laws here is that Michigan’s laws apply in all cases — as long as the activities occur only within the state. Once a marijuana-related activity happens outside of Michigan, it gives reason to the federal government to investigate and prosecute you.threatens to violate federal law.

For instance, a licensed microbusiness is allowed to cultivate, process and sell their products all within the state of Michigan. It is not, however, allowed to take their products across state lines and sell it in Ohio. Even possessing marijuana while one is crossing outside of Michigan’s state lines could be considered a federal crime.

Municipal Law Regarding Weed Dispensary Licenses

Weed dispensaries in Michigan are not allowed to operate within areas that are zoned as exclusively residential. They also aren’t allowed to be located within 1,000 feet of a K-12 school.

State law also gives individual municipalities additional powers to further reduce that distance requirement or impose more location requirements based on what they wish. 

Municipalities are even allowed to completely ban weed dispensaries within their borders, which some municipalities in Michigan have already chosen to do.

Michigan is one of 37 states in the U.S. that allows cannabis products to be used for medical purposes. Michigan now allows recreational cannabis use to an individual who is 21 years or older. It also provides concealed weapons permits to certain gun owners and users.

But, can a person in the state of Michigan hold both a medical marijuana card and a concealed weapons permit at the same time? The simple answer to that question is yes, but under certain circumstances only. 

It’s very important that you understand the laws in Michigan in relation to these two specialty licenses, and how they apply to certain situations and locations.

What are the Federal Laws That Govern Firearm Sale and Possession?

The most important thing to understand is that there are two sets of laws that apply to medical marijuana and concealed weapons permits — those at the federal level and those at the state level.

What is legal in Michigan may not be legal at the federal level. In other words, Michigan’s state laws allow for people to have a medical card and concealed weapons permit at the same time. However, those laws do not apply outside the state’s borders, since there are no federal laws that provide these same privileges.

The two main federal laws that govern the sale and possession of firearms are the the National Firearms Act of 1934 as well as the Gun Control Act of 1968. The former was the first federal law that sought to curb violence by regulating firearm sales and possession. The latter sough to do the same by putting prohibitions on who could own firearms.

These two laws form the basis of all firearm sale and possession regulations at the federal level.

Wilson v. Lynch 

In 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in the case of Wilson v. Lynch that people who have a medical marijuana license card were prohibited from purchasing guns. 

The plaintiff in the case, S. Rowan Wilson, tried to legally purchase a firearm in Nevada, where she lived. The firearms dealer wouldn’t sell her a gun, though, because she had a medical marijuana card. The dealer acted under the federal law that prohibits the sale of firearms to anyone who is known to be a drug user.

Wilson challenged that decision — and the federal law — through a federal lawsuit. She was challenging the federal statute that prohibited her sale from going through. She also challenged regulations set by the ATF — the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives — which said in 2011, that firearms dealers who held federal licenses couldn’t sell guns to medical marijuana users because it is considered an unlawful drug.

Even today, as marijuana has been legalized for both medical and recreational usage in many states including Michigan, it still remains an illegal drug on a federal level. This means that any state that doesn’t explicitly allow for the sale of firearms to a medical marijuana card holder is prevented from doing so according to federal law. 

The appeals court ultimately determined that Wilson’s Second Amendment rights weren’t impeded upon, even though she wasn’t a user of marijuana and only obtained the card to support the legislation. The court ruled that federal law didn’t prohibit the possession of firearms by medical marijuana card holders, only the purchase of new firearms.

She could, therefore, have legally purchased firearms before obtaining the card and still possessed them according to the law. Wilson, according to the court, also could drop her medical marijuana card at any time willfully and regain her legal right to purchase firearms.

What this means, essentially, is that Michigan’s state law is in contradiction to federal law. It’s unlawful to not only purchase but also possess a firearm, whether concealed or not, if you’re a marijuana user, even if for medical purposes.

In fact, the ATF rescinded an exemption that Michigan Concealed Pistol License “CPL” holders once enjoyed. Before the state legalized the use of recreational marijuana, CPL holders in Michigan didn’t have to undergo a background check through NICS for each new firearm they purchased.

That privilege was rescinded following the recreational marijuana law going into effect in late 2019, because marijuana is still illegal at the federal level.

What Disqualifies You from CPL in Michigan? 

There are certain requirements one must meet in order to qualify for a CPL in Michigan. While there are some exceptions to the rule here, a person will generally be disqualified from obtaining a CPL in Michigan if they have a felony conviction or have one pending; have been deemed to have a mental health illness; have been dishonorably discharged from the military; been convicted of domestic assault within eight years from applying for the CPL; and been convicted of DUI in the last three years.

There are some other things that would disqualify someone from obtaining a CPL in Michigan, but those are the main categories of disqualification.

Can You Get a CPL with a Misdemeanor in Michigan?

There are instances in which you could get a CPL in Michigan if you have a misdemeanor offense on your record. There is a long list of misdemeanor offenses on the state of Michigan’s website that outlines which misdemeanor offenses would disqualify you from obtaining a CPL.

Even if you have been convicted of one of the misdemeanors on the list, though, you could still gain a CPL in Michigan after a certain period of time. For example, some of the offenses require you to wait eight years since the charge while others require offenders to wait three years.

Where Can I Carry a CPL in Michigan?

Michigan issues CPLs only to residents of the state, with some exceptions. Residents of other states who have similar CPLs in their home state may carry a concealed firearm, too.

Michigan provides some relatively liberal rules for where a legally-licensed holder of a CPL can carry a concealed weapon. Generally speaking, you can carry a CPL in most places in Michigan, except for some places such as hospitals and schools.

You are allowed to carry a CPL in a bar or restaurant that serves alcohol, as long as you’re not actually considered to be under the influence. There also aren’t any specific statutes that address possession at hotels. As a result, you should check with the hotel to see its policy.

Can You Carry a Gun in a Dispensary in Michigan?

It is not explicitly illegal to carry a gun in a dispensary in Michigan according to state law. However, it is according to federal law, as mentioned above. So, it’s generally not a good idea to carry a gun in a dispensary in Michigan.

 

Cannabidiol (CBD) oil is a product used today by many people for many different reasons. For some people who are facing serious and significant medical conditions, CBD oil is quite literally a life saver.

Each state in America has different rules and regulations when it comes to who is allowed to possess and use CBD oil, where it can be purchased and where it can be transported. If you’re flying on a plane within the U.S., it’s important to understand what you are and aren’t allowed to do, so that you abide by all the laws pertaining to CBD oil.

Here are the TSA guidelines for CBD oil in 2022.

The Federal Status of CBD

The 2018 Farm Bill made all CBD oil that is derived from hemp legal on the federal level. CBD oil that comes from marijuana is still considered illegal on the federal level.

You can tell the difference between the two by reading the label on the product. Any CBD product that contains 0.3% or less of THC is considered federally legal. This means that as long as the product you are transporting contains less than this amount, you will not be subject to prosecution on a federal level. 

State laws

Another thing to consider is what the state laws are in regard to CBD. Some states may have stricter standards, while others might be more lenient. These are the laws that will come into play on a local basis. 

For example, if you get through security at your destination, you should be following the local CBD laws of the state(s) you’ll be traveling to or through. Keep in mind that these laws may be different than the ones that dictated what you were allowed to purchase, and how much you were allowed to possess, in the state from which you came.

Airport rules

Airports need to abide by local laws in the jurisdictions in which they reside. Some airports are located in cities that have more liberal policies in regard to CBD than the rest of the state, and the opposite also may be true. 

So, if you plan to travel with CBD oil, it’s important to research not only the states’ laws but also the laws of the jurisdictions of where the airports are located. Keep in mind, too, that the airports in some cities are not always located within the confines of the city.

Also keep in mind that if you are traveling internationally, you’ll need to research the laws of the foreign countries you’re traveling to. CBD is actually illegal in a number of countries.

Does the TSA Check for CBD?    

As the Transportation Security Administration, the TSA is focused more on overall security of planes and passengers. The screening procedures used, then, attempt to identify threats to the passengers and overall aviation. This means that TSA won’t specifically be looking for CBD through security checkpoints.

Can Airport Scanners Detect CBD?

Airport scanners are not designed to detect CBD. They are used to see through bags and clothing for threats to safety.

What Happens if TSA Finds CBD on You at the Airport?

Even though TSA won’t be specifically searching for CBD through security checkpoints, they are required to report a suspected violation to local, state or federal authorities. If, for instance, a TSA official believes you are carrying a CBD product that is illegal on either a local, state or federal level, they may force you to speak with law enforcement officials.

This is why it’s important to know all the local and federal laws in regard to the specific product you want to transport. It’s also important that you are able to prove what the product you are transporting is. If you can prove that you’re meeting all applicable laws, you should have no problem in the end.

Can You Fly with CBD Oil in Carry-On?

Yes, you can fly with CBD oil in your carry-on luggage. If you choose to do so, make sure that it’s properly packed so that it doesn’t shatter and spill. Make sure that the original label is on it, and that it lists the ingredients in case someone asks you what it is. Finally, make sure it meets the regulations for liquids, which is typically 3 ounces.

Can I Fly with CBD in My Checked Bag? 

   

You can also fly with CBD oil in your checked bag. The same basic rules apply to a carry-on bag. Pack it in a safe and secure way so that it doesn’t break. Make sure that an airport official can easily access it if need be, and that you have all the pertinent information to prove you’re not breaking any laws.

You won’t need to abide by the limit on liquids if you’re flying with CBD in your checked bag.

Bringing Different Types of CBD on a Plane

CBD comes in a number of different forms. It’s important to understand how each form applies to flying on a plane with it.

CBD Oil

CBD oil is one of the most common forms. Because it is a liquid, it will need to conform to TSA’s standards if you are keeping it in your carry-on luggage. If it exceeds that limit, it can be confiscated.

CBD Tinctures

Since a CBD tincture is alcohol-based, it’s a liquid that will be subject to TSA’s limits and guidelines. Further, because of its alcoholic nature, you may have a much tougher time flying with it than you would other forms of CBD.

CBD Creams

CBD creams may also be subject to the above TSA limits for liquids. To be safe, you should either place it in your checked luggage or ensure it doesn’t exceed the limit.

CBD Vapes

CBD vapes fit into the same category as CBD Oil in terms of flying. It should meet the TSA limits for carry-on luggage.

CBD Gummies (Edibles)

You’ll have more leeway with CBD edibles because they are not liquid. As such, you won’t be subject to the same limits as the liquid or cream versions of the product. This is why many people prefer to fly with gummies if they want to bring CBD with them.

CBD Drinks

As a liquid, CBD drinks are subject to TSA’s limit. Because most individual drinks are well above this limit, it’s often difficult to travel with CBD drinks. You may want to consider a different form if you want to bring CBD with you on a plane.

CBD Flower

Flying with CBD flower can sometimes be a tricky situation, if only because the product itself looks like an illicit drug. TSA agents who aren’t well-versed on CBD flower may give you problems if they find it in your luggage, even if you aren’t breaking any laws.