After September 15, Can I Still be a Caregiver?

The Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation is standing firm on their position that all cannabis facilities that are not licensed by the State under the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, will need to close down, and will receive a cease and desist letter at that time. While the facilities are not mandated to shut down, the State Bureau of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has explained that any facility that continues to operate after receipt of the cease and desist will very likely not be given a license. Additionally, the State has stated suggested Final Rules pertaining to Medical Marihuana Facilities licensing, which is going to permit or registered qualifying patients to obtain home deliveries from provisioning centers (with limitation, certainly) and will certainly also allow online buying. So, where does that leave registered caregivers, that were expecting to be able to stay relevant to their patients till 2021?

Traditional

The old model for registered caregivers was pretty easy. You were enabled to grow up to twelve plants for each patient. You could have 5 clients, apart from yourself. If the caregiver was also a patient, they could also cultivate twelve plants for personal usage also. So, a caregiver could grow a total amount of seventy-two marihuana plants. The majority of caregivers created far more usable marihuana from those plants than they could make use of for patients and individual usage. The caregivers would then sell their excess product to medical marihuana dispensaries.

Under the emergency rules, marihuana dispensaries that were operating with municipal approval, but that had actually not gotten a State license were permitted to proceed running and buying from registered caregivers. Those centers were allowed to buy caregiver excess for thirty days after getting their State license for stock. That suggested significant earnings for caregivers and also substantial supply for dispensaries.

After September 15, 2018

The problems for registered caregivers only starts on September 15, 2018. All State licensed centers that will remain open and operating can not buy any kind of product from caregivers. State Licensed Provisioning Centers, but statute and administrative rules are strictly prohibited from getting or selling any product that is not created by a State Licensed Grower or Processor that has actually had their product tested and certified by a State Licensed Safety Compliance Facility. Any State Licensed Provisioning Center that is found to have product up for sale that is not from a State Licensed Cultivator or Processor is subject to State sanctions on their license, consisting of short-term or permanent cancellation of the license. Given the threat, licensed facilities are really unlikely to run the risk of purchasing from a caregiver, given the prospective effects.

Even more, the unlicensed facilities to whom caregivers have been continuing to market to, even throughout the licensing process, will be closing down. Some might continue to operate, but given the State's stance on centers that do not adhere to their cease and desist letters being looked at very unfavorably in the licensing process, the market will be significantly lessened, if not eliminated. Consequently, caregivers will not have much choice for marketing their excess, as well as will certainly be restricted only to their current clients.

New Administrative Rules

A hearing will be held on September 17, 2018 concerning the new recommended final administrative rules for the regulation of medical marihuana facilities, which will become effective in November, when the emergency rules discontinue being effective. Those final recommended administrative rules permit home delivery by a provisioning center, and will additionally allow controlled online buying. Those two things eliminate much of the role contemplated by caregivers under the brand-new regulations. Clients would certainly still need them to go to the provisioning facility to pick up and deliver cannabis to patients that were too sick or who were disabled and can not get to those licensed facilities to acquire their medicinal cannabis. With this modification to the administrative rules, such clients will no longer need a caregiver. They will be able to place an order online and have the provisioning facility deliver it to them, basically removing the need of a caregiver.

Final thought

For better or worse, the State is doing everything it can to get rid of caregivers under the brand-new administrative system, even prior to the intended removal in 2021 contemplated by the MMFLA. There are a lot of reasons the State could be doing it, but that is of little comfort to caregivers. The bottom line is, the State is eliminating the caregiver model, and they are moving that process along with celerity. The State is sending the message that they want caregivers out of the market as soon as possible, and they are developing regulations to ensure that takes place sooner rather than later. The caregiver model, while advantageous and essential under the old Michigan Medical Marihuana Act structure, are currently going the way of the Dodo. Like everything else, the Marihuana laws are evolving, and some things that have flourished in the past, won't make it to see the new legalized era.