MI: Residential Marijuana Ordinance Needs More Work, Officials Say
Lansing – A proposed residential medical marijuana ordinance needs further review and could be changed several times, based how City Council’s Committee on Public Safety meeting went Thursday afternoon at City Hall. Representatives from the city, Lansing Board of Water & Light, the medical marijuana community and neighborhood groups all appeared to leave the meeting […]
MI: Ferndale Holds Off On New Medical Marijuana Facilities, Waits On New State Law
Ferndale has temporarily stopped accepting applications for medical marijuana facilities while officials sort out what kind of ordinances they will have to draft in response to new state laws that go into effect next month. “I hope this doesn’t look like we are backing away from our commitment to have safe and legal medical marijuana […]
MI: Marijuana Conference To Be Held In Lansing
Lansing – Recent changes in state medical marijuana laws will be the subject of a conference next month aimed at shedding light on a growing industry. An event called the Capital Conference will be held Dec. 4 at the Radisson Hotel. Speakers are expected to include Rep. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, retired Detroit TV news […]
MI: Judge Hears Arguments In Class Action Marijuana Lawsuit
Detroit, Mich. – A judge on Wednesday heard arguments in a federal class action lawsuit filed by medical marijuana patients and caregivers against several Michigan law enforcement and crime lab officials. The suit, filed in June, claims that because of false lab reports, prosecutors are charging people with felonies without proof, illegally arresting them and […]
MI: Portage Extends Marijuana Moratorium
Portage – The Portage City Council has extended its moratorium on new medical marijuana facilities for at least a year. That’s how long it may take the state of Michigan to set up their new production and distribution system, and for local municipalities to decide whether or not they want to allow any of the […]
MI: Marijuana Dispensary Site Plan Okayed In Wayne
A site plan for a medical marijuana dispensary – Wayne’s second dispensary – was approved recently by the city council. The dispensary would be located on a currently vacant lot on Old Van Born Road with a nearby home being moved onto a new foundation to house the business. “This is a permitted use in […]
MI: TV Anchor With MS Leaving Fox 2 To Join Medical Marijuana Fight
After 22 years on television, Fox 2 Detroit morning anchor Anqunette Jamison Sarfoh has announced plans to retire. In a Facebook video post Tuesday morning, Sarfoh, best known as “Q” to Fox 2 watchers, said that she would leave the business and join a leadership role with MILegalize, in an effort to help legalize marijuana […]
MI: Medical Marijuana Potentially Lucrative For State
Lansing, MI – New medical marijuana regulations will be put into place in December, and some are projecting millions of dollars in state revenue with the changes; some analysts estimate the number could be more than $63 million a year, according to the Detroit Free Press. The new regulations require a 3% excise tax on […]
MI: Portage Sets Hearing On Extending Temporary Medical Marijuana Moratorium
Portage, MI – Portage is proposing to extend its medical marijuana moratorium until the state comes up with licensing rules regulating dispensaries. A Nov. 1 public hearing by the Portage City Council will determine if the city continues its current medical moratorium pending approval of state licensing rules on regulating medical marijuana edibles and dispensaries. […]
MI: Lansing's Proposed Medical Marijuana Ordinance Stays On Hold
Lansing – It could take awhile before City Council votes on a proposed medical marijuana ordinance that’s been changed, debated and delayed for several months. Until a new ordinance is brought to Council’s full eight-member body and approved, the city will continue following an ordinance created in 2011 that doesn’t include a licensing process for […]
MI: What Do New Medical Marijuana Laws Mean For Detroit’s Many Dispensaries?
Big changes are coming to Michigan’s medical marijuana system. Gov. Rick Snyder has signed new laws that give cities more power to regulate provisioning centers, including deciding where they locate and their hours of operation. For the city of Detroit, officials say that means more ammunition to shut down provisioning centers – also known widely […]
MI: New Marijuana Bills Won't Mean Immediate Dispensaries, City Attorney Says
Kalamazoo, MI – Though the ink has dried on three marijuana bills signed by the Governor, city attorney Robinson said dispensaries in Kalamazoo will be created slowly. Last month, Gov. Rick Snyder signed bills legalizing and regulating medical marijuana edibles and dispensaries. Robinson said he has received several communications from residents asking what the city’s […]
MI: Medical Marijuana Regulation Among Bills Made Into Law
Lansing – With the Legislature only in session for three weeks after its summer break, there weren’t a whole lot of bills for Gov. Rick Snyder to sign. But he did sign long-stalled bills to regulate and tax the medical marijuana industry. The bills will allow communities to decide whether and where they want medical […]
MI: New Law Clears The Legal Haze Over Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed a law that legalizes medical marijuana dispensaries. While medical marijuana has been legal in Michigan since 2008, many dispensaries exceeded the 12-plant, five-patient limits imposed by the 2008 legalization, one of the new law’s sponsors in the Michigan House of Representatives, Rep. Mike Callton (R-Nashville), said. The risk of closure […]
MI: Officials May Re-Examine Local Medical Pot Laws
New state laws permitting medical marijuana dispensaries take effect Dec. 20, but local officials said it will be longer than that before they open in their towns. Local municipalities may choose to ban or to allow dispensaries, and may regulate their number and location under the new laws. “Even if I have language ready today, […]
MI: Medical Marijuana Industry Likely To Expand
Three bills signed by Gov. Rick Snyder on Sept. 21 likely will grow Michigan’s medical marijuana industry substantially and could contribute millions in revenue for the state. Earlier this month, the Michigan House approved a package of bills that enhances Michigan’s 2008 Medical Marijuana Act. The bills previously were approved in the Senate. The new […]
MI: Like Them Or Not, New Laws Provide Framework For Dispensaries, Extracts
We know where marijuana law and access in Michigan is going in the short term. Two recent legal developments have laid it out. The first development is that there will be no vote on legalizing recreational use of marijuana on this year’s ballot. It’s been lingering on life support as MI Legalize went through various […]
MI: Don’t Use Regulatory Authority To Deny Compassion
Municipal officials are right to move cautiously on new regulation in response to the state’s latest patch of its medical marijuana laws. New state laws fix much of what was wrong with the citizen-written and voter-passed medical marijuana statutes. Defects in the law left police, prosecutors, patients and caregivers all guessing what was legal. Unlike […]
MI: New State Regulations On Medical Marijuana
The state now has regulations to control the amount of medical marijuana dispensaries in Michigan. Under the new rules: Dispensaries can be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; There must be security cameras; There cannot be drive through windows; The marijuana must be labeled; The license must be on display; and Businesses will have […]
MI: Panel – Don't Add Eye Disease To Medical Marijuana List
Lansing, Mich. – An advisory panel is recommending that an eye disease not be added to the conditions that qualify for medical marijuana in Michigan. Only one of six members on the review panel was in favor Tuesday. The petition was filed by Melba Velez Ortiz, a professor at Grand Valley State University. She wants […]
MI: Group Teaches Benefits Of Medicinal Cannabis To Healthcare Professionals
Traverse City – Northern Michigan nurses are being taught about the effects of cannabis in the human body. Patients Out of Time held an event Sunday at the Northwestern Michigan College Hagerty Center in Traverse City to discuss the role of medicinal marijuana. The organization focuses on educating healthcare professionals and the public about therapeutic […]
MI: Dispensary Owners Weigh In On New Medical Marijuana Bill
Otsego County Mi – There are new marijuana regulations now in effect aimed at helping to clarify the state’s medical marijuana law that was passed in 2008. Governor Rick Snyder signed the bill Wednesday, and today medical marijuana dispensaries are speaking out, The caregivers are happy that there is finally more clarity in the law […]
MI: Lansing Mayor, Council Deal With Proposed Medical Marijuana Ordinance
Lansing, Mich – A big issue that is facing local governments in Michigan today is how to regulate medical marijuana. This week, Governor Snyder signed a law that leaves it up to local municipalities to regulate the location and number of dispensaries in their communities. So what does that mean for Lansing? The first decision […]
MI: Detroit Marijuana Dispensary Hosts Voter Registration Pop-Up
Detroit – An activist group plans to hold voter registrations drives at marijuana dispensaries in what it calls an “out of the box effort” is to boost voter turnout in November. The Michigan chapter of Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network held the first pop-up drive at the House of Zen dispensary on Mack Avenue […]
MI: Medical Marijuana Bills Become Law, “Hope It Works” Says AG Schuette
Lansing, Mich – The governor has signed the legislation, most of the law enforcement community has endorsed it, but the state’s top law enforcement official refuses to take a stance on the Medical Marijuana laws. It took eight years but the governor signed legislation this week to regulate the medical marijuana industry. As it moved […]
MI: Gov. Snyder Signs Medical Marijuana Bills Clarifying Dispensaries, Edibles
Lansing, MI – Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday signed bills legalizing and regulating medical marijuana edibles and dispensaries. “This new law will help Michiganders of all ages and with varying medical conditions access safe products to relieve their suffering,” Snyder said. “We can finally implement a solid framework that gives patients a safe source from […]
MI: Otsego County Medical Marijuana Activists And Police React To Potential New Laws
There could be changes to state medical marijuana laws. The governor is expected to sign new bills for regulating and taxing it in Michigan. Changes include a tax on the marijuana provisioning centers sell, and allowing non-smokable forms of medical marijuana. 9 & 10’s Blayke Roznowski and photojournalist Noah Jurik found out how marijuana activists […]
MI: Medical Marijuana Law Change Can Affect Some Criminal Court Cases
Ida Chinosis uses a marijuana oil extract to control the symptoms of her 7-year-old daughter’s seizures, an effect of her medical condition called 1p26 Deletion Syndrome. A registered medical marijuana caregiver for her daughter, Michigan’s medical marijuana law has been vague on whether oils and other marijuana products are included in the state law regulating […]
MI: Marijuana Bills To Legalize Edibles, Regulate Dispensaries Head To Gov. Snyder
Lansing, MI – A set of bills to legalize edible forms of medical marijuana and regulate the sale of medical marijuana through dispensaries are on their way to Gov. Rick Snyder after a final approval by the Michigan House of Representatives on Wednesday. The bills work in concert to address the effects of court rulings […]
Michigan House Approves Bills, State Set To Regulate Medical Cannabis
The Michigan House of Representatives voted in concurrence with last week’s Senate vote, approving a series of bills that would establish a regulatory framework for the state’s medical cannabis industry, according to a Michigan Live article. Governor Rick Snyder is expected to sign the bills into law very soon. The package of bills approved today includes […]
MI: Legislature Poised To Approve Medical Marijuana Regulations
Lansing, Mich. – A new regulatory structure for medical marijuana is approaching the Michigan House for final approval. Marijuana for medical use was legalized by voters in 2008. Since then, however, there have been conflicts in the courts; particularly about the legality of establishments where patients can purchase it, and whether non-smokable forms are legal. […]
MI: Act Swiftly On Pot Regulation
After Michigan voters in 2008 passed an act allowing for the use of medical marijuana, the Legislature failed to address the myriad questions that followed. Among the most pressing: How would medical marijuana dispensaries be regulated? As time passed, many communities came up with their own solutions. Others, like Lansing, have failed to implement regulations, […]
MI: Medical Marijuana Reform One Step Closer To Law
Lansing – After 11 months of sitting on and then reworking a three-bill package, the Michigan Senate passed medical marijuana law reform to legalize oils, edibles, and dispensaries but with a tiered regulation structure. As it stands, Michigan’s medical marijuana law is cloudy at best. Thursday the Michigan Senate approved HB 4209, 4210, and 4827 […]
MI: No More Smoke And Mirrors When It Comes To Medical Marijuana Law
Lansing, MI – Selling and distributing marijuana in Lansing has been a hot topic in the city for years and while waiting on state lawmakers to take action on the issue, Lansing city officials have been working on drafting their own marijuana ordinance. The first week of September, a new draft of an ordinance was […]
MI: Law Officers May Seek Snyder Veto Of Medical Pot Bill
Marijuana activists mostly cheered Thursday’s long-awaited approval by the state Senate of bills legalizing key aspects of medical marijuana in Michigan. But law-enforcement officials said the bills left key concerns unresolved, and Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said he might lead an effort to seek a veto in coming weeks by Gov. Rick Snyder. The […]
MI: Marijuana Ordinance Stays On Pace For Approval
Lansing – The city’s long-awaited ordinance on medical marijuana could be approved by City Council next month because Planning Board members appeared Tuesday willing to accept zoning regulations that would limit the number of establishments that sell marijuana. Planning Board members are expected to review the ordinance again at their Oct. 4 meeting. City Council […]
MI: Lansing Finalizes Draft Ordinance To Regulate Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
Lansing, Mich. – Lansing City Council Member Carol Wood has been working on ten drafts of an ordinance to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries since late last year. She and the Public Safety Committee have finally agreed on a set of rules. “We’ve been very open about listening to the public and their concerns,” Wood said. […]