Michigan issues emergency rules for medical marijuana industry

The agency overseeing the rollout of Michigan’s regulated medical marijuana market released emergency industry rules Monday, and they were quickly signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder.

According to Mlive.com, businesses will be able to start applying Dec. 15 for five types of MMJ business licenses:

• Retailers
• Growers
• Processors
• Transporters
• Testing labs

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The emergency rules – released by the Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation, which is part of the larger Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs – will remain in effect for six months while the agency works to tweak and finalize the regulations.

The emergency rules spell out exactly what companies must do to obtain state permits and include one important provision: Existing dispensaries may remain open while they transition to the fully regulated statewide market – as long as they already have local approval to operate.

Several regulators had stirred controversy in September by suggesting that all dispensaries be required to shut down until they receive state permits.