After September 15, Can I Still be a Caregiver?

The Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation is standing firm on their position that all cannabis facilities that are not licensed by the State under the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, will need to shut down, and will receive a cease and desist letter at that time. While the centers are not mandated to shut down, the State Bureau of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has made clear that any facility that continues to run after receipt of the cease and desist will most likely not be given a license. Further, the State has stated suggested Final Rules regarding Medical Marihuana Facilities licensing, which is going to permit or registered qualifying clients to obtain home shipments from provisioning centers (with limitation, obviously) and will certainly also permit online purchasing. So, where does that leave registered caregivers, that were anticipating to be able to continue to be relevant to their clients up until 2021?

Traditional Model

The old for registered caregivers was rather basic. You were allowed to cultivate up to twelve plants for each client. You could have 5 patients, besides yourself. If the caregiver was also a client, they could likewise grow twelve plants for personal use also. So, a caregiver could grow a total amount of seventy-two marihuana plants. The majority of caregivers created far more usable marihuana from those plants than they could use for patients and individual use. The caregivers would then sell their excess product to medical marihuana dispensaries.

Under the emergency rules, marihuana dispensaries that were operating with municipal authorization, but that had not obtained a State license were allowed to continue operating and purchasing from registered caregivers. Those centers were allowed to buy caregiver excess for thirty days after receiving their State license for supply. That implied significant earnings for caregivers and also significant supply for dispensaries.

After September 15, 2018

The issues for registered caregivers only begins on September 15, 2018. All State licensed centers that will continue to be open and operating can not buy any kind of product from caregivers. State Licensed Provisioning Centers, but statute and administrative rules are strictly prohibited from getting or offering any type of product that is not produced by a State Licensed Grower or Processor that has had their item tested and certified by a State Licensed Safety Compliance Facility. Any State Licensed Provisioning Center that is found to have product available that is not from a State Licensed Cultivator or Processor is subject to State sanctions on their license, including temporary or permanent abrogation of the license. Given the risk, licensed centers are extremely unlikely to risk buying from a caregiver, offered the prospective consequences.

Even more, the unlicensed centers to whom caregivers have been continuing to offer to, even throughout the licensing process, will certainly be shutting down. Some might continue to run, but given the State's position on centers that do not abide by their cease and desist letters being looked at very adversely in the licensing process, the market will certainly be significantly decreased, if not eliminated. Consequently, caregivers will not have much option for offering their excess, and also will be restricted only to their present patients.

New Administrative Rules

A hearing will be held on September 17, 2018 regarding the brand-new proposed final administrative rules for the regulation of medical marihuana facilities, which will become effective in November, when the emergency rules stop being effective. Those final proposed administrative rules allow for house delivery by a provisioning center, and will also permit regulated online buying. Those 2 things take away much of the function contemplated by caregivers under the brand-new policies. Patients would still need them to head to the provisioning facility to get and deliver cannabis to clients that were too sick or who were impaired and can not get to those licensed centers to obtain their medicinal cannabis. With this modification to the administrative rules, such patients will no longer need a caregiver. They will be able to place an order online and have the provisioning facility deliver it to them, basically eliminating the need of a caregiver.

Final thought

For better or worse, the State is doing everything it can to eliminate caregivers under the new administrative scheme, even prior to the prepared removal in 2021 contemplated by the MMFLA. There are a lot of factors the State could be doing it, but that is of little comfort to caregivers. The bottom line is, the State is eliminating the caregiver , and they are moving that process along with celerity. The State is sending the message that they desire caregivers out of the marketplace asap, and they are developing regulations to make certain that happens sooner rather than later. The caregiver model, while valuable and needed under the old Michigan Medical Marihuana Act structure, are now going the way of the Dodo. Like everything else, the Marihuana laws are evolving, and some things that have thrived in the past, won't make it to see the brand-new legalized era.

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