MichigaN Marijuna Dispensary Laws

Currently, Michigan residents with a state-approved medical marijuana patient card can purchase cannabis from medical dispensaries, called provisioning centers.

Adult-use cannabis was approved by Michigan voters in November 2018; however, the legal framework for the state’s recreational cannabis program is still being developed, and commercial sales likely won’t begin until early 2020.

Michigan residents over the age of 18 can apply for a medical marijuana patient card by following these steps:

1. Print the Michigan medical marijuana card application form.
2. Schedule an appointment with a licensed physician to determine whether you have a qualifying condition.
3. Once your doctor has determined you qualify for medical marijuana and filled out the physician recommendation portion of the application, fill out the rest of the application as instructed. Note that you will need to provide proof of your residency in the state of Michigan as well as a $60 application fee.
4. Submit your application to the state.

Yes. The list of conditions that qualify for medical marijuana in Michigan includes:

• Cancer
• Glaucoma
• HIV
• AIDS
• Hepatitis C
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Crohn’s Disease
• Agitation of Alzheimer’s Disease
• Nail Patella
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Arthritis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Spinal cord injury
• Colitis
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Ulcerative colitis
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Tourette’s Syndrome
• Autism
• Chronic pain
• Cerebral palsy
• Any chronic or debilitating disease, medical condition or its treatment that causes cachexia, severe and chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures, or severe and persistent muscle spasms

Yes; medical marijuana patients can cultivate up to 12 cannabis plants at home. Additionally, under the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act, adults aged 21 and older may cultivate up to 12 cannabis plants at home.

The Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA), which is part of Michigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, or LARA for short.

In Michigan, medical cannabis dispensaries are called “provisioning centers.” The MRA uses a two-step application process for all marijuana facility licensing; the first step is prequalification, and includes a background check of all applicants associated with the application.

The second step is license qualification, which includes providing more information specific to the physical location and type of license sought — in this case, a provisioning center license.

There are two fees associated with the provisioning center licensing process. The first is an application fee of $6,000, which must be submitted before the application can be processed.

The second fee is an annual regulatory assessment, which must be paid prior to the license being issued. The amount of the regulatory assessment fee is still being determined by LARA; the agency has stated that the fee will depend on the total number of licenses being issued, and could be as low as $10,000 or as high as $66,000.

Because the legal framework for Michigan’s adult-use cannabis market is still under development, applications for recreational marijuana retail licenses are not yet being accepted. The legislation states that LARA must begin accepting applications by December 6, 2019.

Under Michigan’s law, LARA will only accept recreational cannabis retail license applications from persons currently holding a medical marijuana provisioning center license. This restriction will remain in effect for the first two years after LARA begins accepting adult-use cannabis facility license applications.

This means that in order to be eligible for an adult-use cannabis retail license in Michigan, you must first obtain a medical marijuana provisioning center license.

The state will not set a limit on the number of licenses issued; however, local municipalities may choose to restrict or limit the type and number of facilities licensed in their jurisdictions.

Under state law, cannabis retail establishments cannot be located in areas zoned exclusively for residential use or within 1,000 feet of any school for grades K-12. However, local municipalities may reduce this distance requirement or impose additional location requirements as they see fit. Some municipalities have opted to restrict or prohibit the opening of retail stores. The MRA has more information online regarding specific communities.

Currently, marijuana provisioning centers in Michigan may only sell cannabis to patients holding an active medical marijuana patient identification card.

Provisioning centers in Michigan may sell cannabis and cannabis products including flower, concentrates, edibles, infused products, seeds, and clones.

Adults aged 21 and up may possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis or equivalent product away from home, and up to 10 ounces within their home. Adults may possess up to 15 grams of cannabis concentrate at any given time.

Medical marijuana patients in Michigan may purchase up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis or equivalent product daily. The monthly purchasing limit for patients is 10 ounces of cannabis or equivalent product.

Medical cannabis sales in Michigan are subject to the standard state sales tax of six percent, plus an additional three percent excise tax. Recreational cannabis will be subject to a 10 percent excise tax on top of the standard sales tax.

Yes, a marijuana establishment in Michigan can sell both medical marijuana and adult-use recreational cannabis, provided those products are physically separated in the store. A dispensary will also have to follow all distinct regulations regarding the sale of each of those products, which includes different labeling, tax rates, customer verification procedures, etc.

A provisioning center may offer home delivery once the facility's delivery procedures have been provided to and approved by the MRA. Orders must be received through a secure website that authenticates access by a registered qualifying patient. Medical marijuana can be delivered to the home of any registered qualifying patient, even if the patient's jurisdiction does not allow dispensaries. 

A marijuana establishment can apply for a license as a designated consumption site. Only dispensaries with a designated consumption site license can have smoking lounges or otherwise allow consumption of marijuana products on-site.  These establishments may not serve food or alcohol. 

Michigan’s Marijuana Tracking Act requires the establishment of a statewide monitoring system that can integrate with third-party inventory control and tracking systems such as Cova’s Cannabis Dispensary POS Software in order to allow:

• Verification of age and validity of medical marijuana patient card
• Retention of a record of the date, time, quantity, and price of each sale or transfer of cannabis
• Determination of whether a particular sale or transfer will exceed the permissible limit

Michigan has chosen Metrc as its official statewide marijuana monitoring system.

Yes. Cova’s dispensary POS and inventory management system includes all the features needed to keep cannabis retailers compliant, including:

• ID scanner for age and patient card verification
• Integrated inventory and sales tracking and reporting
• Built-in product equivalency conversions and purchase limit enforcement

Yes, Cova is an authorized 3rd-party POS integrated with Metrc in Michigan.

First, no advertisements for anything cannabis-related can be attractive to minors (no cartoon characters or public figures appealing to a younger age group) or promote underage or out-of-state consumption. Second, no product can claim any therapeutic or curative effects. Lastly, any cannabis advertisement must include the following government warnings:

• "This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming.";

• "Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug.";

• "There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product."; and

• "For use only by adults twenty-one and older. Keep out of the reach of children.”

Each licensed retail location can have two signs at their location with their business name or trade name. These signs cannot be larger than 1,600 square feet (measured from the outer frame). No signs can be on the road pointing in the direction of the dispensary, they can only be affixed or hanging from the building or windows of the actual storefront.

The signs can include the business name, location and identify the nature of the business. It cannot have any photos or depictions of cannabis and it cannot be appealing to minors.

A cannabis dispensary can advertise on billboards with some restrictions. First, the billboard can only contain the same information as signage on the storefront (i.e., name of business, address and nature of business). It cannot contain any photos or depictions of the cannabis plant (this includes any logo with a cannabis leaf) or appeal to minors. No matter the design, the billboard must say that cannabis can only be purchased and possessed by adults over 21 years old.

No, dispensaries cannot give away any product or coupons. They can, however, encourage customers to sign up for an email or text list and offer specials that way.

No, a dispensary is only allowed to sell legal cannabis products and paraphernalia. But branded merchandise for a dispensary can be sold on their website or through a separate entity.

 

Yes, a dispensary is allowed to advertise in print publications, but with a few restrictions. The publication cannot target or distribute to an audience out of state or underage. And the content of the advertisement must follow the same rules as billboards and signage (no cannabis depictions or photos, cartoon characters or anything appealing to minors and must include government warnings). Local jurisdictions are able to establish additional advertising rules, so always check for relevant local laws.

A retail cannabis business can have a website, but it cannot appeal to or solicit anyone under the age of 21. You can sell branded non-cannabis merchandise on your website, but all cannabis products must be purchased in store.

Yes, a dispensary can host or sponsor an event, but only if attendees are over 21 years old. They cannot have product on hand, neither as a free gift or sold.

Rules and regulations regarding advertising for Washington cannabis companies are constantly changing. You can view the WSLCB’s Q&A on advertising here.

Cova POS software provides complete seed-to-sale tracking functionality and has a number of built-in features designed to help you automatically comply with the legal regulations in your state/province. For example, the Cova POS system automatically monitors:

• Purchase Limits – The POS system automatically calculates the correct THC amounts for all products, including concentrates and edibles. By relieving your staff of this complex task, the POS prevents mistakes in calculation and allows your budtenders to focus on customer service—and not on mathematical conversions. The system also enforces purchase limits by alerting staff when a limit has been reached and preventing budtenders from executing a sale that would place you over the legal limit.
• Hours of Operation – The system can be easily configured to comply with local laws. Once the operational hours are set up, the POS will not allow sales to be executed outside the legal hours of operation, preventing potential violations before they occur.
• Customer Identification Requirements – Customer IDs are easily scanned and recorded, ensuring your staff double checks IDs and virtually eliminating potential sales to minors or other individuals lacking the requisite documentation.
• Accurate Real-Time Reporting – Operational visibility is also very important for your team. Cova POS software generates management reports in real time. These reports can be easily distributed across the organization to ensure the correct data is in the hands of the correct personnel.
• Fully Compliant Product Labelling & Receipts – Cova Software enables the complete customization of all printed materials, product labels, and receipts, enabling you to comply with all local regulations related to labeling and packaging quickly and easily.

To ensure that you always maintain an expedient transaction pace and keep lines moving, Cova comes with a built-in offline sales processing mode that enables continuous access to critical functions even when your Wi-Fi or internet connection is unavailable. Once connectivity is restored, all transactions performed in offline mode are synchronized with the state’s reporting system, data is backed up, and reports and inventory records are adjusted accordingly.

By choosing a POS system with built-in tax reporting functionality, you’ll always know exactly how much tax you need to pay.

There are several reasons why a cannabis-specific POS is ideal for your operation—but the most important one is compliance management. Because traditional retail operations and pharmacies don’t have the same government-mandated compliance requirements, their POS systems aren’t built to manage the complexities involved with track and trace reporting and the other aspects of state compliance.

With the industry still in its infancy, regulations are bound to change. At Cova, our team keeps up with industry-wide and state-specific changes so that our developers can quickly made necessary software updates—and so you never have to worry about remaining compliant with the latest regulations.

Currently, Metrc is not yet live in California since the state's regulations have not yet been officially adopted. However, Cova is working closely with Metrc and has already begun the process of integration, and we plan to be ready when the system goes live.

Absolutely! Cova software is built on technology that has the ability to dynamically scale with your needs. Microsoft’s Cloud Computing Platform, Azure, automatically detects instances of heavy traffic (such as sales on 4/20) and assigns further servers and computing power as necessary to compensate—allowing you to process sales without interruption, even during the busiest retail periods.

Although technically you are not mandated to comply with the new law and regulations until July, it’s a good idea to implement a compliant POS now so you don’t have to switch later.

With Cova, you can easily stay compliant with California’s inventory reconciliation requirement by printing the Inventory-on-hand report and checking it against your physical inventory. You can make any necessary adjustments directly into the POS, which will then sync the data across your network.