Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Bureau Orders 210 Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Closed
LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation has ordered the closing of 210 medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, according to the South Bend Tribune.
The spokesman for the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, David Harns, said that the medical marijuana dispensaries were sent cease and desist letters because they did not submit an application for a state license.
The list of dispensaries was compiled from a search of dispensaries on medical marijuana websites that advertise for pot shops and were cross-checked with facilities that had applied for a state license. Those that had not applied yet for a license or did not have permission from their local communities were sent the cease and desist letters.
Dispensary owners had until the February 15 deadline to submit an application to the state for a license. Harns said that there are still 215 medical marijuana dispensaries open that submitted their license applications on time and were issued a temporarily license pending issuance of a state license.
The emergency regulations were not implemented until last December, which allowed medical marijuana dispensaries already in business to remain open while the state finishes the process of regulating licensing medical marijuana businesses.
The dispensaries that were sent letters either applied late or failed to apply at all. More than 150 of the closures were in the city of Detroit. Dispensaries in Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Lansing, Flint, and Gaylord were also issued cease and desist orders.
Dispensaries that do not close their doors will risk becoming ineligible to apply for a state license in the future. The dispensaries also risk law enforcement from the state and federal authorities forcibly closing down their shops and seizing the contents.
