A chapter in Michigan’s medical marijuana history came to a close Thursday in Lansing, as the licensing board appointed by former Gov. Rick Snyder met for the last time.
As of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, April 30, an executive order from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will take effect -- transferring the licensing power directly to staff in the Marijuana Regulatory Agency, the new name for the Bureau of Marijuana Regulation.
In its nearly two-year tenure, the Medical Marihuana Licensing Board reviewed hundreds of business applicants and approved more than 140 licenses.
Board member Don Bailey wished licensed businesses in the audience at the meeting Thursday “good luck.”
"I believe, based on 36 years in law enforcement, that you are going to need it," Bailey said. "The black market has expanded exponentially, and it's not going to contract on its own."
Licensed businesses are going to face a “huge problem” competing against black market operators, who are going unchallenged by local police and local prosecutors, Bailey said.In an editorial published in Bridge Magazine, Bailey said Whitmer’s decision to end the licensing board is her way of paying back the marijuana lobby.
Though it was criticized for its slow pace and inconsistent decisions, the licensing board provided public transparency into the regulation of prospective medical marijuana businesses.
Once agency staff take full control of the licensing process next week, all decisions will be made behind closed doors.
“I don’t know if it will move any faster, to be honest, unless the legislature changes the make up of these applications. When these people come in, they’re literally carrying boxes,” said Rick Johnson, chairman of the licensing board, of the lengthy paper trail required in license applications.
The board's ability to shape the medical marijuana industry at times has been challenged in the courts, as deadlines for temporarily operating businesses to gain a license have repeatedly been trumped by a judge's order.
"It's ridiculous that you have a governing body … put in place by the legislature and the lawmakers and signed by the governor, and you have the judicial system making rulings," Johnson said.
During the Wednesday meeting Johnson supported a move to give preliminary approval to 92 applicants in one fell swoop -- a motion that eventually failed.
“I somewhat like it because with all the other rulings that tend to go on, sometimes it makes you wonder why we’ve been here at all,” Johnson said after giving his support for the motion, referencing repeated judicial rulings that have usurped the board’s authority.
In January the board approved a resolution backed by Whitmer to set a compliance deadline of April 1 for unlicensed but operating provisioning centers. Court of Claims Judge Stephen Borrello blocked that attempt by issuing a temporary restraining order after provisioning centers filed lawsuits. Borrello is expected to issue a final decision Friday.
How that decision conflicts with pending legislation that would set a compliance deadline of June 1 is not yet known. House Bill 4440 is now before a Senate committee.
-- Amy Biolchini is the marijuana beat reporter for MLive. Contact her with questions, tips or comments at abiolch1@mlive.com. Read more from MLive about medical marijuana.