First seven Michigan medical cannabis licensees now in regulatory limbo

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The first seven Michigan companies won business permits just last week, but now they find themselves in regulatory limbo, unable to fully comply with the law and also serve patients.

That’s because there aren’t any licensed testing labs yet in all of Michigan, Mlive.com reported.

And because state law requires MMJ to be tested for safety before it can legally be sold to patients, sales will be on hold until a lab gets up and running.

David Harns, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, said he expects at least one lab to be given a permit at the Aug. 15 meeting of the state’s MMJ licensing board, according to Mlive.com.

But that means at least another monthlong wait for other licensed companies before they can sell medical marijuana legally.

There may be a stopgap solution, however.

The seven licensees could wait to pay the $48,000 fees that would trigger the permits to become fully active under the law and “continue to operate under the second set of emergency rules the state put in place in May,” Harns told Mlive.com.

But once that $48,000 fee is submitted, all licensees must comply with the testing requirement.